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(#1) Harriet Tubman Underwent Surgery With No Anesthesia
From Redditor /u/joe1up:
Harriet Tubman had brain surgery without anesthesia.
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(#2) Egyptian Pharaohs, To Deter Flies From Themselves, Covered Servants With Honey
From a Redditor:
In ancient Egypt, servants were smeared with honey to attract flies away from the pharaoh.
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(#3) Earwax Was An Early Form Of Lip Balm
From Redditor /u/EctoOfficial:
People in the 1800s used earwax as lip balm.
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(#4) The Great Molasses Flood In Boston Killed 21 People
From Redditor /u/Stronkowski:
[In 1919] a massive tank of [molasses] burst open in Boston, causing a sticky wave that killed 21 people and injured well over 100. The great [molasses] flood spread at about 35 mph.
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(#5) From 1840-1960, All US Presidents Elected In A Year Ending With '0' Perished While In Office
From Redditor /u/pennant_fever:
From 1840 through 1960, every US President elected in a year that ended in “0” died in office.
1840: William Henry Harrison (died in office)
1860: Abraham Lincoln (assassinated)
1880: James Garfield (assassinated)
1900: William McKinley (assassinated)
1920: Warren Harding (died in office)
1940: Franklin D. Roosevelt (died in office)
1960: John F. Kennedy (assassinated)
Ronald Reagan (1980) had an assassination attempt made on him, and George Bush got a shoe thrown at his head. Godspeed to whoever wins in 2020.
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(#6) President Andrew Jackson's Profane Parrot Swore At His Funeral
From Redditor /u/Back2Bach:
At US President Andrew Jackson's funeral in 1845, his pet parrot had to be removed because it was swearing.
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(#7) John Wilkes Booth's Brother Saved The Life Of Abraham Lincoln's Son
From Redditor /u/grantimatter:
[Abraham Lincoln's son] Robert Lincoln's life was saved by John Wilkes Booth's brother, Edwin, a famous actor, who pulled him [away] from a train that was about to drag him under its wheels.
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(#8) A US Navy Ship Used Potatoes To Down A Submarine
From Redditor /u/mthirtyseven:
US sailors [brought down] a Japanese [submarine] in WW2 using potatoes.
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(#9) The US Government Once Trained A Cat As A Spy
From Redditor /u/Estre11a:
Operation Acoustic Kitty: a US government-funded operation to train domestic cats to be equipped with audio devices to spy on opposing threats.
[After] the first mission, $[20] million later, the cat crossed the street and was hit by a car. They canceled it thereafter.
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(#10) The Son Of A Roman Emperor Perished From Choking On A Pear That Landed In His Mouth
From Redditor /u/nakedonmygoat:
[Tiberius] Claudius Drusus, [son of Roman Emperor Claudius], died in AD 20 from asphyxiation when he tossed a pear in the air and caught it in his mouth.
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(#11) An Enemy Of Ancient Romans Used Bears In Tunnels As A Defense Tactic
From Redditor /u/OnionsHaveLairAction:
When the Romans [lay] siege to [Themiscyra], a real place weirdly enough, they attempted to tunnel into the city.
The [Themiscyrans] released bears into the tunnels.
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(#12) The BBC Once Tricked Viewers Into Believing Switzerland Had Grown Spaghetti Bushes
From Redditor /u/proper-puddle:
[On April Fools' Day] in 1957, the BBC successfully pranked many of its viewers by convincing them that Switzerland was currently enjoying a fantastic crop of spaghetti [from spaghetti bushes].
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(#13) NASA Originally Wanted The Actor Who Played Big Bird Rather Than Teacher Christa McAuliffe To Go Up In The Space Shuttle
From Redditor /u/Omny87:
In the early 1980s, NASA had approached Caroll Spinney, the actor who played Big Bird on Sesame Street, to be launched into orbit alongside their astronauts, to inspire children to be interested in space. The plans fell through, however, mainly due to the Big Bird costume being too bulky for the cramped space shuttle, so they sent up Christa McAuliffe, a social studies teacher, instead.
She unfortunately didn't make it to space either - because that's when the Challenger [shattered].
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(#14) The Shortest War On Record Lasted Less Than One Hour
From Redditor /u/Great-Decision:
The shortest war occurred between Zanzibar and the British empire [in 1896], lasting around 45 minutes.
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(#15) After The Australian Prime Minister Mysteriously Disappeared While Swimming At A Beach, The Country Named A Pool After Him
From Redditor /u/mamkumquat:
In the '60s the prime minister of Australia, [Harold Holt], drowned while swimming in the ocean and his body was never found.
Guess what was built in his honor?
A swimming pool.
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(#16) During American Colonial Times, Lobster Was A Lower-Class Food
From Redditor /u/and__e__rew:
In the American colonies, lobster was considered a low-class food, and normally only fed to prisoners and slaves.
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(#17) As A Lifeguard, Ronald Reagan Saved 77 People From Drowning
From Redditor /u/irishamerican:
Ronald Reagan was a prolific lifeguard when younger, saving 77 people...
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(#18) A Pope, Anti-Pope, And Counter-Anti-Pope Coexisted
From Redditor /u/somajones:
At one time there was not only a pope and an anti-pope, but also a counter-anti-pope [during the Western Schism from 1378 to 1417 in the Catholic Church, when three men claimed to be the legitimate pope].
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(#19) A Canadian Senator Got His Book Translated For Free By Reading It During A Filibuster
From Redditor /u/funnienewyork:
Canadian Sen. Philippe Gigantès, while filibustering, read his own book into the record.
The Canadian Parliament keeps a bilingual record; by reading his book he obtained a free translation [into French].
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(#20) The Olympics At One Time Gave Out Medals For Art
From Redditor /u/maxpown3r:
The Olympics used to award medals for art pieces [from 1912 to 1948].
Famous sculptors of the time would display their sculptures for prizes.
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