› added 12 years ago

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TIL in 1858 a sweets seller in Bradford, England known as Humbug Billy accidentally produced peppermint humbugs containing lethal doses of arsenic killing approximately 20 people.

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Lrpm TIL In 1986, there were plans to put Big Bird on the space shuttle, to encourage kids to get interested in space. There wasn’t enough room for the puppet, and Caroll Spinney, who portrays the 8-foot-2 bird, was replaced by a teacher. It was for a seat on the ill-fated space shuttle Challenger.
Bgdbk TIL that the character Soda Popinski in the NES game "Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!" was originally named Vodka Drunkenski in the arcade version of the game. The name was changed because of Nintendo of America's stringent censorship policies, which also led him drinking soda instead of vodka in the game.
v1rnr TIL about Rolando Sanchez, a former general surgeon from Tampa, FL. who in 1995, amputated the wrong leg of a diabetic patient (claiming it to be a clerical error) and, just 5 months later, unnecessarily removed the big toe of another patient during a debridement procedure on her right foot.
WkEGL TIL Stephen King suffers from triskaidekaphobia which is the fear of the number 13. People that have this phobia avoid the number 13 in everyday scenarios like climbing stairs, flipping through channels and page numbers. King has stated, "It’s neurotic, sure. But it’s also . . . safer".
D1B7V TIL there is a new drug for treating schizophrenia that consists of being given a shot 4 times a year, making it the first successful medication of its kind that doesn’t require patients to take daily pills.