TIL of Project Artichoke which was a mind control program from the intelligence divisions of the Army, Navy, Air Force and FBI. The goal was to determine if someone could involuntarily be made to perform an act of assassination. It also studied forced addiction to morphine, hypnosis, and amnesia.
TIL The Amazing Jonathan, late comedian and magician, was married to, and managed by, Anastasia Synn, a transhumanist, biohacker, and cyborg rights activist. She holds the Guinness World Record for most technological implants in the female body and has the largest magnet ever implanted in a person.
TIL of mut'ah, a "marriage" contract lasting an hour that is practiced by Shia people which acts as a form of legal prostitution in Iraq, Iran, and other areas with notable Shia population
TIL that mentally disabled patients at the Judge Rotenberg Center aren't allowed to talk to each-other and will get punised if they do so, employees also can't chat with other employees, it's even encouraged for employees to rat each-other out if they try to have conversation
TIL that the Centralia Mine Fire in Centralia, Pennsylvania has been burning continuously since at least 1962. It stretches across 8 miles (13km) & at depths of up to 300ft (90m). It has made the surrounding land unstable & the residents were relocated
TIL Black Sabbath's debut album in 1970 began with the sound of rain and a distant church bell. 43 years later, in 2013, their final album ended with the sound of rain and a distant church bell.
TIL that many British people don’t rinse the soap off their dishes after washing them, and this practice is actually due to a fairy liquid advertisement that promoted their soap as not needing rinsing
TIL that Marcus Aurelius is believed to have written a series of love letters to his tutor Fronto. One reading: "Farewell my Fronto, wherever you are, my most sweet love and delight. How is it between you and me? I love you and you are not here."
TIL aboriginal cannibals were said to prefer the taste of Chinese people over Europeans, "because their rice-fed flesh tasted better than the salty flesh of the beef fed whites."