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TIL Junius Brutus Booth (father of the assassin) was a raging alcoholic and actor whose manager locked him up before plays to keep him sober. From a room Junius was locked in before one play, he bribed a bellboy to stand outside with brandy to drink it through the door’s keyhole using a small pipe.

kJxke Today I Learned Potato blight that sparked Great Famine appeared in US two years before
16Bb8 TIL that If two pieces of similar metals touch in a vacuum, and if both pieces are perfectly flat and polished, they will indeed fuse to effectively make one new piece. This is called cold welding.
l7Q15 TIL that Dummy, a deaf-mute fortune teller from Sible Hedingham, was accused of cursing Emma Smith in 1863. A mob beat him and threw him in a brook as an “ordeal by water.” He died of pneumonia in a workhouse. Two men were convicted of assault and sentenced to six months’ hard labour.
yVDda TIL the on set feud between Wesley Snipes & director David S. Goyer while filming Blade: Trinity led to Snipes only appearing on set to film close-ups (often completely stoned) & letting his double shoot most of his scenes. And he only communicated with Goyer via Post-it notes, signing them as Blade
b9DVQ TIL that Alexa can analyze patterns of word use, manner of pronunciation and voice characteristics to learn about my "body features, gender, age, personality traits, mental and physical health, emotions, degree of intoxication and sleepiness, geographical origin and socioeconomic status."