› added 10 years ago

100

TIL that during the Ming dynasty (approx. 1570), powdered Smallpox scabs were blown up the noses of the healthy. The patients would then develop a mild case of the disease, but were immune to it from then on.

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J1wEl TIL that in Ireland 40 years ago, Malcolm MacArthur, a socialite with a yen for bow ties and cravats, bludgeoned a woman to death, killed a farmer with his own shotgun then attempted to rob a US diplomat. He was found in the apartment of the Irish attorney general, who had hosted him as a guest.
rNnLe TIL that Norway has a custom of hanging portraits of the king and other members of the royal family in the bathroom
0dAo5 TIL: There was a poll of "well traveled women" which rated men they slept with. Spain, France, Brazil had the best lovers. For the worst countries, they also indicated why, Germany (Too Smelly), England (Too Lazy), Sweden (Too Quick), America (Too Rough), Russia (Too Hairy).
JX9k TIL the Tsar Bomba, the single most physically powerful device ever used by mankind, had a mushroom cloud measuring over 7 times the height of Mt Everest. The shockwave was measured circling the earth 3 times and it caused windowpanes to be partially broken at distances of 900 kilometres (560 mi)
LkP8p TIL After almost 50 years of use and dubbed as the largest landfill in the world, the Staten Island NY landfill has slowly coming back to life as a park (Freshkills Park). The bucolic rolling meadows conceal a topography that's made entirely of garbage.