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TIL during the Middle Ages wealthy families sometimes took in men and women who had mental illnesses or physical deformities and kept them as court jesters and pets for their amusement. Known as "innocent fools" they were not paid; just provided with food, clothes, and a place to sleep on the floor.

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bnjj TIL The Empire of Japan had proposed a “Racial Equality” bill in the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, but was rejected by other countries.
p8L6p TIL the child actor who played Oliver Twist also grew up to play Uncle Fester in the Addams family.
GYGK1 TIL In the ancient Roman comedic play "The Mother-in-Law," a husband falsely accuses his new wife of infidelity after she gives birth mere months into marriage. A stolen ring reveals he assaulted his future wife in a dark street before they met, and is in fact the father of the child.
YpRvd TIL that in 1921, Frederick B. Banting figured out how to extract insulin from a dog’s pancreas, creating the first real treatment of diabetes. He intended to make it extremely cheap in order to save as many people as possible but private companies now charge almost $300 a single vial of insulin.
kJPoW TIL that trains have sandboxes which dispense sand immediately in front of the drive wheels to give the locomotive traction on steep or slippery rails.