› added 4 years ago

189

TIL Urine was so important to the textile industry of 16th century England that casks of it–an estimated amount equivalent to the urine stream of 1000 people for an entire year–were shipped from across the country to Yorkshire

Read more smithsonianmag.com

via reddit.com

LkWWd TIL that "celebrity psychiatrist" Dr. Isaac Herschkopf manipulated a patient into cutting off his family, giving him his home, signing over his bank account, and amending his will to leave everything to the doctor's wife. Yet Dr. Herschkopf still maintains his medical license in New York City today.
Wl08 TIL in 2012, due to a flood, a drunk North Korean man wearing only his underwear floated on driftwood to a South Korean island
nenwr TIL that the Brotherhood of Assassins from Assassin's Creed is based off a real organization known as the Nizari Ismailis. The organization was based in Masyaf, had a Grand Master, and was known for public assassinations in broad daylight.
m1PkE TIL during the 1920 trial of Elmer Fisher for the illegal ownership of alcohol, the jury took 1 of the bottles submitted as evidence when they went to deliberate to make sure that it was whiskey. After some time passed, the jury asked for a 2nd bottle. A short time later, it found Fisher not guilty.
NXY1Q TIL about TV pickups, a phenomenon in the United Kingdom where there is a surge in electricity demand caused by the switching on of millions of electric kettles to brew cups of tea or coffee. This occurs during breaks in popular television programmes.