› added 5 years ago

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TIL of Sir Alexander Cuming, a Scottish nobleman who traveled to the southeast US based off a dream of his wife. He became chief of the Cherokee Nation, defrauded several colonists, and attempted to turn South Carolina into a new Jewish homeland. He later became an alchemist and died in a poorhouse

pY6dO TIL that contrary to popular belief, it's virtually impossible to overdose on fentanyl from accidental exposure. It can't be absorbed through the skin, and at the highest airborne concentration, an unprotected person with 200 min of exposure would only absorb 100 mcg (5% of a lethal dose)
mx8ly TIL that "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan (the sad song in the ASPCA commercials), is actually about Jonathan Melvoin- the Smashing Pumpkins touring keyboard player who passed away from a heroin overdose in 1996.
v5L8 TIL when King George III found out Washington had given up command of the revolutionary army, and was planning to return to his farm after the war, He said, “If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.”
jNYOj TIL Captain Cook's return to Hawaii coincided with the Makahiki, a Hawaiian harvest festival of worship for the god Lono. Coincidentally the form of Cook's ship resembled certain artifacts that formed part of the season of worship. He was flayed a month later after trying to kidnap the king.
74vX TIL that Jim Crow-era “Literacy Tests” were frequently not even legitimate tests of reading skills but instead were a series of incredibly confusing trick questions such as “Print the word vote upside down, but in the correct order.”