› added 4 years ago

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TIL that while the first state to pass a speed limit law happened in 1901 and limited the legal speed of motor vehicles to 12 mph in cities and 15 mph on country roads, the first motor vehicle to actually get a ticket was in a 2 mph zone.

Read more blog.americansafetycouncil.com

via reddit.com

wLYr1 TIL that the the first known contraceptive was crocodile dung, used by Egyptians in 2000 B.C.
Z8wM4 TIL about the Falkland Islands. These islands were covered by landmines in 1982 when Argentina invaded because they wanted to control them. Because of this certain areas of the islands became untouched leading to the penguin population to thrive because they aren't heavy enough to set the mines off.
lE0N TIL that Thomas Harris based his character Hannibal Lecter on a real person, a doctor who murdered and dismembered his victims and treated patients while in prison. He spent nearly 40 years in prison before being released in 2000. He went back to practicing medicine.
ADxZ7 TIL that in funerals costing thousands, the Toraja sacrifice 24 buffaloes on an average and the last breath of a water buffalo signifies the official death of the deceased relative. They believe that the more of them are sacrificed, the faster the soul of the departed will find its way to heaven.
bOB4 TIL Peter The Great accepted his wife be executed after she killed her newborn baby. When he showed up at the execution, the crowd assumed he’d stop the execution, but instead he watched her executed, kissed her detached head and used it to explain to the crowd the intracacies of neck anatomy.