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1478

TIL the corpse flower, one of the largest and rarest flowers in the world, blooms for 24-48 hours and smells like rotting flesh. It was first discovered in Sumatra in 1878.

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VjXm TIL during World War 1, Alvin York pretty much single handedly attacked a German machine gun nest, killing 20 and captured 132 solders. His actions made him one of the most decorated solders in the US Army, earning medals not only from the US, but also France, Italy, and Montenegro.
R7WMQ TIL the QWERTY system emerged as a result of how the first typewriters were being used. Early adopters and beta-testers included telegraph operators who needed to quickly transcribe messages. The operators found the alphabetical arrangement to be confusing and inefficient for translating morse code.
9w1VQ TIL that in Galway, Ireland, a historical marker commemorates the place where, in 1753, Liam O’Malley was bitten and turned into a vampire. The plaque goes on to explain that O’Malley, later known as Angel, “found fame in the 1997 hit TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
JwDl TIL that Samuel Johnson wrote in his dictionary definition for oats: “A food usually reserved for horses in England, in Scotland supports the people.” His Scottish biographer retorted, “Aye, which is why in England you’ll raise fine horses, while in Scotland we’ll raise fine people.”
L0kP TIL that hot dog buns originated because customers were not returning gloves loaned out by the concessionaire to handle the sausages