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TIL a failed experiment of an 18 year old English chemist in search of a treatment for malaria in 1856 produced one of the world’s first synthetic dyes for the color purple, which severely impacted economic trade as some natural dyes were major commodities more valuable than silver or gold

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oBWPo TIL the song “I Put a Spell on You” by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins was supposed to be a ballad, but during a recording session, Hawkins “screamed and grunted” through the whole song because he was drunk. It was his most-successful recording and is in The Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
6E1EX TIL that the word "mafia" originated from the Sicilian word "mafiusu," which can mean swagger, boldness or bravado. Sicily was once an Islamic emirate and one possible root for this word is the Arabic word "mahyāṣ" (مهياص), meaning aggressive boasting or bragging.
5YMDQ TIL An instrumental version of the song "Sukiyaki", a story of a man who looks up and whistles while he is walking so that his tears will not fall, was played by NASA over the radio for the Gemini VII astronauts as mood music, thereby becoming one of the first pieces of music sent to humans in space
NX5ab TIL Much of Thespis (Gilbert and Sullivan's first opera) has been lost. The little music that has survived largely comes from Sullivan recycling his material, Climbing Over Rocky Mountain was later used in The Pirates of Penzance and the ballet was likely reused for the French The Mikado.
VMlWG TIL that the Hatian Revolution was "the only slave uprising that led to the founding of a state which was both free from slavery, and ruled by non-whites and former captives."