› added 10 years ago

107

TIL During World War I, before the traction splint was introduced, femur fractures had an 80% mortality rate. After the splint was introduced, the rate dropped to around 8%.

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M7Qda TIL, there was a Cocaine-infused tablet called “Forced March” taken on the North Pole Expedition by Shackleton. As label explains: “Allays hunger and prolongs the power of endurance.”
Nbk1 TIL-John Wesley Hardin shot and killed a man for snoring too loudly in a hotel.
krYm TIL a death row inmate who avoided the electric chair accidentally electrocuted himself on a toilet
XEZQr TIL that several states have ruled Breathalyzer machines inadmissible as evidence in prosecution due to them being unreliable, improperly calibrated, etc. This has been a multi year/decade problem and people knew. The manufacturers also are shady.
p8mJG TIL that the term "rooster" originated in the United States as a puritan euphemism to avoid the sexual connotation of the original English word "cock".