› added 11 years ago

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TIL China shut down nearby factories and ordered half the cars off the road to reduce pollution during the Olympics.

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W7GVL TIL in a private letter from 1521, Niccolo Machiavelli describes reading his mail in the toilet seat. Stuck on a boring work trip, he proceeds to ask his pen pal to send him fat folders stuffed with papers and make the mailman run, to prank the nosey monks who tried to pry at his letters
a8EQL TIL that Pope Francis hasn't watched TV since 1990, after making a pledge to the Virgin Mary. It has kept him from watching his favorite soccer team, Buenos Aires-based San Lorenzo. So a member of the Swiss Guard tells him the scores and keeps him up to date on the standings
D1Llv TIL when the Sea Squirt or Tunicate becomes an adult, it sticks to a rock for the rest of its life. As it only needs to eat and reproduce by self-fertilisation, it eats or reabsorbs it's sense organs and nervous system as it no longer needs them.
p8xmp TIL the idiom "take with a grain of salt" dates to 25 AD and refers to an antidote to poison. To take a poison or an idea with a grain of salt means to reduce it's effectiveness.
mLMv TIL the president of Food for the Poor is called Robin Mahfood