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Today I learned that the 19th Amendment (Women's Suffrage) almost wasn't ratified until a Tennessee senator who was against it (Harry Burns) received a letter from his mother telling him to "be a good boy" and vote for ratification. He broke the deadlock the next day and the 19th was ratified.

Read more history.com

via reddit.com

vPlk8 TIL that the word “bear” is the oldest known euphemism. Ancient Germanic tribes were afraid that speaking the bear’s true name would cause one to appear, so they simply referred to it as “a wild animal” or “the brown one.” The English word “bear” is descended from this superstition.
OoM7R TIL Countless would-be adventurers have been rescued attempting to reach the bus where Chris McCandless died in "Into the Wild," as well as three known instances of fans being found dead.
VOO0 TIL during the filming of “Titanic” someone put the drug PCP in lobster chowder that was served to the cast and crew. 80 people were hospitalized with hallucinations. Upon hearing of this James Cameron made himself vomit before the effects of the drug fully kicked in.
ADRpd TIL Electronic Arts needed an intense audit to realize that FIFA versions prior to FIFA 14 had incorrect drag coefficient of the ball, which led to unrealistic behavior of the ball.
neAaW TIL “Superfecundation”. It is when two or more eggs from the same cycle are fertilized by sperm from different acts of sexual intercourse. This can lead to twin babies with separate biological fathers. It’s rare in humans, but common in cats and dogs.