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101

TIL Before Black Beard went into battle he lit fuses under his hat to scare his opponents

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KYEVJ TIL about the Phoebus Cartel, an oligopoly that carved up the early light bulb market for profit and to reduce the operating life of light bulbs from about 2,500 hours to under 1,000 hours to force people to buy more bulbs. It’s an early example of planned obsolescence to drive profits.
E1G50 TIL that 1 cup (3.5 oz / 100 grams) of raw elderberries contain 3 milligrams of Cyanide - this is 3% of the estimated fatal dose for a 130 pound (60 kg) person. Yet the raw berries are made into syrup and gummies to treat flu and cold symptoms. Theoretically - 7.3 pounds (3,3 kg) can kill you.
a8Geo TIL In 1855, a Portuguese writer who didn't speak English wrote a book in English full of unintentional errors. The book ended up being famous, with a version prefaced by Mark Twain.
DpMD TIL That the song Capt. Jean Luc Picard listened to when he thought the ship (and the entire United Federation of Planets) was lost to the Borg in the movie “First Contact” was about a sailor in the Trojan War who was worried he’d never see home again.
Lk9k9 TIL: The anatomy of the clitoris was not determined until 1998