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TIL of the 1840 book, "Two Years Before the Mast". Written as a memoir documenting a sailing voyage from Boston to California, it not only influenced how sailors were seen and treated, as well as being a prospector's guide to California, but also influenced Herman Melville's writings as well.

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b6rGQ TIL in 1818, an Englishman accused of murder demanded a trial by combat. Surprisingly, the law that allowed for trial by combat was still valid, and the man was acquitted when his accuser declined the offer of battle. Trial by combat was abolished the following year.
78Lpx TIL that in Mrs Doubtfire when she puts pepper on Stuart’s jambalaya and rings the bell, she shouts “Hot Jambalaya”. My entire childhood I’ve believed she shouted “Hutchimala” and never known what it meant.
8anG4 According to a report released by Hong Kong-based marine conservation group OceansAsia, approximately 1.56 billion face masks entered oceans in 2020.
JYQWV TIL that after the initial discovery of penicillin, scientists scrambled for a fungus that could efficiently produce it. Mary Hunt, a lab assistant, came across a cantaloupe with a golden mold, P. chrysogenum. All penicillin is effectively descended from Mary Hunt’s cantaloupe.
D1QWD TIL the word "dashboard" originated as a barrier of wood or leather fixed at the front of a horse-drawn carriage or sleigh to protect the driver from mud or other debris "dashed up" (thrown up) by the horses' hooves.