› added 8 years ago

195

TIL handshakes were originally meant to make sure the person you were meeting wasn’t carrying a concealed weapon. Clasping hands proved it was empty, and shaking was meant to dislodge anything that was being hidden inside the sleeve.

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4XAgX TIL that Elizabeth Proctor, one of the convicted witches of Salem, was pregnant and "plead her belly", delaying the execution until after giving birth. She was never executed afterwards.
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