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TIL: Abraham Lincoln told his biographer, friend, and law partner of 18 years, William Hearndon, how he had been infected with syphilis in 1835 or 1836 (by a prostitute). Hearndon, believing both Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln had syphilis, suspected it in the premature death of 3 Lincoln children

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nWpAd TIL Tweezers are known to have been used in predynastic Egypt. There are drawings of Egyptian craftsmen holding hot pots over ovens with a double-bow shaped tool.
nWDZP TIL of German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus. He created a list of nonsensical words to test his memory. He demonstrated that increased repetitions led to increased retention, graphing the relationship in what would be known as the learning curve.
KYRA4 TIL that in 1952 US President Harry S Truman refused involvement with the British plan to overthrow the democratically elected PM of Iran, Mohammad Mosaddegh, fearing the precedent of CIA involvement in foreign coups. The coup was carried out a year later after Eisenhower was elected to replace him
D15Og TIL that there is a collection of hundreds of preserved diseased brains along with photographs of patients in the sub-basement of Yale Medical School that is free and open to the public. The collection was started by the first neurosurgeon to successfully remove a brain tumor - Dr. Harvey Cushing.
QNrb9 TIL about Sweating Sickness, a virus in 1500s Europe that’s since vanished. Death could occur within hours of the first symptoms.