› added 6 years ago

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TIL Fritz Haber invented the process for modern agricultural fertilizer thus saving millions of lives from starvation. He also pioneered chemical weapons processes which killed and horribly injured hundreds of thousands during WWI. His wife, son, and grand daughter all committed suicide.

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Byab TIL that the “@#$%&!” symbols often seen in comics to indicate/ censor inappropriate language have an actual name: grawlixes.
6ZKQ TIL Hans Christian Anderson ruined his friendship with Charles Dickens by inviting himself to his house and staying five weeks. He complained about the weather and service (no one would shave him), cut paper into weird shapes, and threw a fit on the lawn when his book got a bad review.
pY4p4 TIL that cities in New England often had a plot of land dedicated for people who didn’t own land. They are known as “poor farms”. Some of them still exist today and are established by towns as land that must be used for charitable purposes.
VB1Qp TIL that Noble Johnson was a Hollywood actor known for playing characters of many origins, including Native American and Latino parts and "exotic" characters such as Arabians or even a devil in hell. He was a Black American from Missouri.
OG8Zg TIL that the oldest known place name sign is over 5,000 years old and marks the 'Domain of the Scorpion King Horus'