› added 4 years ago

57

TIL that when Upton Sinclair published his landmark 1906 work "The Jungle” about the lives of meatpacking factory workers, he hoped it would lead to worker protection reforms. Instead, it lead to sanitation reforms, as middle class readers were horrified their meat came from somewhere so unsanitary.

x6LMg TIL two shows on FOX featured characters with similar names: That '70s Show had Eric Forman, while House had Eric Foreman. There was no crossover, and the episodes didn't air in the same season, but Kurtwood Smith was a supporting actor in the former (98-06) and a guest actor in the latter (2007)
OLa1 TIL of Santa Muerte, a female skeletal figure primarily worshipped in Mexico. Among many other things, she’s the patron saint of: Homosexuals, Love, Police Officers, Drug Dealers, Smugglers, Mariachi Players and Bicycle Messengers.
gMgpy TIL about the Seven Laws of Noah, which are commandments applicable to all of humanity according to Judaism
wLAnP TIL Before toilet paper, Ancient Romans used a sponge on the end of a long stick that was shared by everyone in the community. When not in use, the stick stayed in a bucket of heavily salted seawater in the communal bathroom.
X04jr TIL Americans have used metric daily for 200+ years. We spend cents, not "pennies". Our least valued coin was an intentionally break from the pre-decimal British "penny" and aligned us with our French allies after the revolution. Cent is from the Latin centum or hundred(th), as in centimeter.