› added 12 years ago

105

TIL the Guillotine was still the official method of execution in France until the death penalty was abolished… in 1981.

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P1kmV TIL when Polish javelin star Maria Andrejczyk found out about an 8 month old that needed life saving surgery, she auctioned off her Olympic silver medal to help raise some of the needed funds. A Polish store chain won it and instead of collecting the medal, they promptly announced she could keep it.
pY6B8 TIL that Michael Jackson narrated E.T. the Extraterrestrial's audiobook album. After taking home a record eight Grammys, seven for his album Thriller and one for E.T., he said that out of all of them he was "most proud of this one".
je4X TIL Ancient Romans would shower daily, until the rise of Christianity, which made good hygiene a religious taboo
yQxk8 TIL that Jim Coleman, a sportswriter made up the 'curse of Muldoon' to meet an editorial deadline. The curse supposedly prevented the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League from finishing in first place from 1938 to 1967.
pYdvN TIL the original aluminum apex of the Washington Monument was the largest piece of aluminum in the world, measuring just 5.6 inches (14 cm) by 8.9 inches (23 cm) because at the time (1884) aluminum was as rare and as valuable as silver