› added 5 years ago

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TIL Listerine was initially used as an anti-septic and is named after Joseph Lister, the doctor who famously used the first anti-septics in the medical field. It has also been sold as floor cleaner and as a cure for Gonorrhea

XEdQr TIL that the Challenger hemi is rarer than most exotic cars - only 47 Hemi Challengers were made in 1971.
QJlGp TIL when Robert E Lee and the Confederate army surrendered, Union soldiers saluted them and gave them rations (the confederate soldiers were starving). Normally victorious armies would taunt defeated ones, but Ulysses S Grant respected the Confederates too much and ordered that they be treated well.
WkWkB TIL 2 hours before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the USS Ward identified and destroyed a Japanese mini-sub attempting to pass through the anti-submarine nets at Pearl Harbor. These were the first American shots fired during WW2, and removed America's neutrality in the war.
BramW TIL Australian Don Ritchie talked at least 160 people out of committing suicide at Watson's Bay by offering them a cup of tea and someone to talk to. He was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for his efforts.
R5Nll TIL that Marc Bolan of T.Rex ad-libbed the line “Meanwhile, I'm still thinking” at the end of the band’s 1971 song “Bang a Gong (Get It On), because he originally desired to record Chuck Berry’s song “Little Queenie”. The line “Meanwhile, I’m still thinking” came from that Chuck Berry song.