TIL that in the U.S., most paper money lasts less than 7 years before being destroyed and replaced due to wear. [Source]
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
How long is the lifespan of U.S. paper money?
The Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington DC.
TIL There is a fatal disease called Kuru that causes uncontrollable laughing and is transmitted through ritual cannibalism. [Source]
NCBI Bookshelf
Kuru
Kuru is the prototype human prion disease first reported in publications by Dr. D. Carleton Gajdusek and Vincent Zigas in 1957 in the Fore tribes of Papua New Guinea. The word “kuru” means to tremble due to fever or cold.[1][2] It is a non-inflammatory n…
TIL there is a still (somewhat) active mafia group based in Kansas City [Source]
TIL: "Working cats" programs help unadoptable cats live a productive life as mousers [Source]
kittybungalow
Kitty Bungalow-Charm School for Wayward Cats | Working Cat
Los Angeles' only 100% feral cat rescue, socialization & adoption facility. In one of our most innovative programs we save feral cats by putting them to work.
TIL the “Democracy Manifest” meme guy was a prison escape artist and was involved in a love triangle between his wife and “Australia’s Charles Manson,” the latter of whom killed his wife [Source]
the Guardian
Jack Karlson funeral: wisecracks and tears as Brisbane sends enigmatic criminal off to ‘succulent Chinese meal’ in the sky
Crowd at funeral pays tribute to enigmatic criminal who enshrined himself in Australian folklore with ‘democracy manifest’ meme
TIL that before becoming an actor, Danny DeVito worked as a cosmetologist for dead bodies at a morgue, styling the hair of the deceased. He began this after a client of his died where he worked as a beautician at his sister's salon, and her family asked him to do her hair for her funeral. [Source]
TIL a woman named Lydia Abate has been "funeral tracking" for nearly 6 years — she scours obituaries to find recently deceased people, then offers grieving families a free estate clean-out service in exchange for keeping their dead relatives' vintage clothes. She hasn't bought clothes in years. [Source]
YouTube
Taking Your Dead Mom's Clothes Off Your Hands | Extreme Cheapskates
This cheapskate fashionista peruses the obituarys, then offers her "services" to grieving families. | For more Extreme Cheapskates, visit http://tlc.discovery.com/#mkcpgn=yttlc1
For full episodes of Extreme Cheapskates, visit http://www.youtube.com/user…
For full episodes of Extreme Cheapskates, visit http://www.youtube.com/user…
TIL about the Carnation Revolution where military officers organized a coup against their corporatist government, transforming Portugal into a democracy. [Source]
TIL that the Persian "Immortals" weren't called that because they couldn't die, but because their number was kept at exactly 10,000 at all times. If a soldier was killed or fell ill, he was immediately replaced, creating the illusion that the army never suffered casualties. [Source]
Wikipedia
Immortals (Achaemenid Empire)
elite force of soldiers who fought for the Achaemenid Empire
TIL that Johnny Cash would create a snare drum effect in the studio by putting a dollar bill under the strings of his guitar [Source]
TIL of Sabbatai Zevi who in the 17th century claimed he was the Messiah, leading to a significant portion of Jews world wide believing him. Only for him to end up converting to Islam. [Source]
TIL that the last time the United States authorized a private person to conduct war (granting a letter of marque) was during the Second Barbary War (1815) [Source]
TIL chicken sold in supermarkets are often "plumped" with a salt water solution to increase sell weight, making up as much as 30% of the total weight. A serving of plumped chicken can contain between 200 and 500mg of sodium while non-plumped chicken generally contains 45 to 70mg. [Source]
TIL a married Czech couple born on the same day both won gold medals at the 1952 Olympics [Source]
The Game Magazine
Emil Zatopek and Dana Zatopkova: Historic Husband-Wife Olympic Gold in 1952 - The Game Magazine
Tales of Olympics: Andy Murray takes a look at the story behind the Olympic power couple. Both athletes in the Czech team in Helsinki’s 1952 Olympic Games, Dana Zatopek won her first gold in the women's javelin throw, just one hour after her husband won the…
TIL the rivers are so clean in Bern and Basel in Switzerland that many people commute to work by swimming. [Source]
CNN
Swim to work? See how Swiss residents switch up their commute | CNN
In Switzerland, commuters have discovered a new way to get to work, taking full advantage of the remarkably clean rivers. In places like Bern and Basel, people head to the office by taking a refreshing swim in what’s become a summer staple.
TIL that Goerge Wendt, who played Norm on the TV show Cheers, was expelled from Notre Dame for a 0.00 GPA [Source]
TIL about the Minnesota Starvation Experiment. All 36 men of the study lost 25% of their body weight eating 1,560 calories daily, proving that a calorie deficit alone causes weight loss. These starvation conditions produced a severe physical and mental decline in the subjects. [Source]
TiL Women are less likely to receive bystander CPR than men due to fears of 'inappropriate touching' [Source]
www.abc.net.au
'My life is worth more than my boobs': Women are less likely than men to receive CPR in public
People are less likely to give a woman CPR due to fears of hurting her or being accused of inappropriate touching. One Australian CPR provider is trying to change that by putting breasts on training mannequins.
TIL Charles Darwin was invited on the HMS Beagle voyage as a companion to the captain, Robert FitzRoy, who feared the isolation of a five-year journey might drive him to suicide [Source]
TIL about William Price, a Welsh physician and Neo Druid who after the death of his infant son Iesu Grist in 1884, performed one of the first modern cremations in the UK, burning the body on a pyre. He was arrested though acquitted as their was no law against cremation. He was 84...his wife was 18. [Source]
TIL that the descendants of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who is credited as the founding father of Pakistan, have remained in India after the partition of British colonial India into India and Pakistan in 1947, after his only child, Dina Wadia's decision to stay back in India for her marital life. [Source]