/f/todayilearned
TIL that following the Black Death in England, peasants were able to negotiate better wages due to labour shortages. In response Parliament passed the Statute of Labourers 1351 which prohibited the soliciting of wages above pre-plague levels. This contributed to the English Peasant's Revolt of 1381.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by Methisthopheles t3_10s867j
TIL In the 1970s East Germany had a coffee shortage so they made Vietnam into a supplier. East Germany invested the equivalent of tens of millions of dollars into Vietnam in exchange for half of Vietnam's coffee harvests for 20 years. By the first harvest in 1990 East Germany was already dissolved.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by jamescookenotthatone t3_10rnoe5
TIL a Looney Tunes director and animator, Robert McKimson, bragged to colleagues for getting a good bill of health at 67. His family history of living past their 90s caused him to tell his colleagues: "I'm going to be around after you guys are gone!" He died two days later of a heart attack.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by electricmaster23 t3_10rbcem
TIL That in 2004, a 25 year old virginal Japanese woman had surgery to remove a mature fetiform teratoma (a tumor that formed a doll-like structure) that contained brain, eye, spinal nerve, ear, teeth, thyroid gland, bone, bone marrow, gut, trachea, and blood vessel tissue... and more. 😳
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govSubmitted by snafubar_buffet t3_10r94eg
Submitted by happytree23 t3_10r7sb8
TIL that Abraham Lincoln - a fearsome wrestler as a young man - once wrestled the county champion outside the store where he worked, as the whole town looked on. When his opponent began cheating, Lincoln picked the man up and flung him to the ground, knocking him out and starting an all-out brawl.
theguillotine.comSubmitted by Philocazoab t3_10r1a67
TIL that a main reason historians are sure Frederick the Great was gay is on July 1750, the Prussian king unmistakably wrote to his gay secretary and reader, Claude Étienne Darget: “Mes hémorroïdes salient affectueusement votre v…” “My hemorrhoids affectionately greet your cock”
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by History-Guy111111 t3_10qwahf
TIL: In 1962, a 10 year old found a radioactive capsule and took it home in his pocket and left it in a kitchen cabinet. He died 38 days later, his pregnant mom died 3 months after that, then his 2 year old sister a month later. The father survived, and only then did authorities found out why.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by Flares117 t3_10qplxm
TIL: At the height of her popularity, because she was very physically coordinated and never seen missing baby teeth, child actress Shirley Temple combated rumors that she was in fact a 30 year old with dwarfism. The rumor was so prevalent in Europe that the Vatican sent a priest to investigate.
ucatholic.comSubmitted by crazyguzz1 t3_10qkeaf
Submitted by belledujourr t3_118qk02
TIL that in November 1954, a woman in Alabama survived being struck by a meteorite that hit the roof of her house, bounced off a radio and hit her in upper thigh and hand. She was left with a large bruise on her side but was otherwise not seriously injured.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by g_man2522 t3_112zvfp