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Marie Curie's notebooks remain in lead-lined boxes 90+ ye... | funfact.wiki | funfact.wiki
Marie Curie's notebooks remain in lead-lined boxes 90+ years after her death — still dangerously radioactive. Soaked in radium and polonium she handled bare-handed, readers must sign a waiver and wear protective gear. Radium's half-life is 1,600 years.
  • Marie Curie
  • Radioactivity
  • Radium
  • Polonium
  • History
  • Science
  • Lead
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Pure water is an insulator. Electricity passes through water not because of the water itself, but because of dissolved ions. Tap water conducts electricity well because it contains ions like chlorine from disinfection.
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The barbershop pole originated from a time when barbers in Europe also performed surgery. Red represents arteries and bleeding, blue represents veins and shaving, and white represents bones and bandages.
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The earliest recorded spam was a dental advertisement sent by telegram in 1864 in Britain. The furious recipient wrote to The London Times: "By what right do they send me a telegram that is plainly, purely an advertisement, to disturb me?"
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In the 18th century, American businessman Timothy Dexter was tricked into shipping warming pans—used to heat beds—to the year-round tropical West Indies. But local molasses producers bought them all at a 79% markup, finding them perfect as large ladles.
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In 1800, Paris enacted an ordinance banning women from wearing trousers. The law was technically enforced until 2013, with amendments in 1892 and 1909 allowing trousers only while holding bicycle handlebars or horse reins.
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