26Celsius Scale Reversal
Prior to 1743, the Celsius scale was reversed, with the boiling point of water marked as 0° and the freezing point as 100°. Jean-Pierre Christin suggested this reversal.
27. In 2011, a Florida senator tried to bring back dwarf tossing, which was made illegal decades prior, arguing that "In this economy, why would we want to prevent people from getting gainful employment?" In 1989, dwarf tossing was made illegal after one dwarf died of alcohol poisoning.
28. In 1700, King Louis XIV was the first king to tax the upper classes in French history; before this, the rich would receive tax exemptions from previous kings.
29. Before 2012, beer could not be sold in Texas if it was over 4% alcohol. This led to many brewers putting fine print on their labels: "In Texas, malt liquor," to get around the law.
30. Before the 1950s, Los Angeles was sometimes pronounced with a "hard G."
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32. Before the advent of electricity, theater spotlights produced light by directing a flame at calcium oxide (quicklime). These lights were referred to as limelights, and this is the origin of the phrase "in the limelight," which now means being "at the center of attention."
33. Before Jaws (1975) and Star Wars (1977), summers were considered the "graveyard season" for movie releases.
34. The Irish monks invented the Catholic practice of confessing to a priest and performing penance in private. Before this, confessions and penance were done publicly.
35. In 1956, France banned the serving of alcohol to children under the age of 14 in school canteens. Before that, school children had the right to drink half a liter of wine, cider, or beer with their meals. In 1981, France implemented a total alcohol ban in the country's schools.
