› added 11 years ago

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TIL there is a term called “zugzwang,” to describe a situation in chess where a player would prefer not moving at all when it’s his turn, because moving any piece would worsen his current position. A player who is forced to make a move in this situation is said to be “in zugzwang.”

LkdM9 TIL that it's illegal to own just one Guinea Pig in Switzerland. The law was part of a legislative push to grant “social rights” to pets that tend to get lonely.
p8Wxe TIL the US manufactured enough Purple Heart medals in preparation for a possible invasion of Japan in 1945, that they still awarded ones manufactured back then during the recent Iraq and Afghanistan wars
YvyZ TIL that White wife/Black husband marriages are twice as likely to divorce by the 10th year of marriage compared to White/White couples, however, with Black wife/White husband marriages, divorce by the 10th year of marriage is 44% less likely than among White/White unions
4AmJ TIL that Olivia Hussey who played Juliet in the 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet” wasn’t allowed to go to the premiere of the film because she was under the age of 18 and there was a nude scene - even though she was the one who was nude.
WZGB TIL the Book of Mathew is the only gospel to mention the Magi (aka the “Wise Men”) and it never specifies how many there were. The three gifts has led to the widespread assumption that there were three men. In Eastern Christianity, especially the Syriac churches, the Magi often number twelve.