› added 1 week ago

TIL about Clark Stanley, the original snake oil salesman. His claims began in 1879 and continued until his ‘snake oil’ was proven to be a sham in 1916.

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via reddit.com

XJk6 TIL Aboriginal custom throughout Australia bans a person from talking directly to their mother in law or even seeing her. “The relationship is one of respect, but avoidance.”
XEl1k TIL that there were challenges locating costumes for Smashing Pumpkin's video "Tonight, Tonight" as the movie "Titanic" was being shot at the same time in Los Angeles, and James Cameron rented nearly every turn-of-the-century prop and costume in the city.
wLK06 TIL that Medieval Norse fabrics were so exquisitely preserved in Greenland that a 20th century woman would retrieve them from archaeological sites and reuse them for childrens clothes
R7KAw TIL the famous "I drink your milkshake" line from "There Will Be Blood" was based on actual dialogue spoken by Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall during a 1924 congressional hearing about the Teapot Dome scandal
XEBAX TIL that US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq is world's largest (almost of the same size as Vatican City). It houses its own power station, water & sewage treatment, internet and phone network, gym, cinema and sports facilities. Also has 6 apartment buildings for employees.