› added 10 years ago

170

TIL that 19th century gentlemen looking for “casual encounters” with ladies they’ve never met before would present them with funny calling cards to discreetly ask them to “accompany them home”.

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5okp TIL After the American Civil War, some 7,000 Confederates set sail for Brazil. Their Dixie-loving descendants represent one of the most curious cultures in the modern world.
vwJj TIL that in 1802 there was a proposal to build a tunnel under the English Channel that would use horse drawn carriages and be lit by oil lamps.
v1a7r TIL that Pluto was not only named after the god of the underworld, but the first two letters were a homage to Percival Lowell, the scientist who initiated the search for a celestial body beyond Neptune.
kOZN7 TIL that the Vidocq Society - an elite global society of law enforcement professionals from numerous investigative, scientific and forensic specialties - will accept cold cases from law enforcement agencies and use their skills to help local police to solve the crimes on a pro bono basis.
nemoY TIL of a cat that served on the Royal Navy sloop HMS Amethyst. The cat received the PDSA's Dicking Medal after surviving injuries from a cannon shell, raising morale, and killing off a rat infestation.