› added 9 years ago

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TIL: The first President of Zimbabwe was President Banana. A law was passed forbidding citizens from making jokes about his name.

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XljR TIL of Lauri Törni, a Finnish soldier that after fighting in the winter war against the USSR, he joined the SS and kept fighting until the end WW2. After WW2, he migrated to the US and joined the US Army, and died in combat in Vietnam in 1965 by which time he had earned high ranking U.S. awards.
VMvgQ TIL that scientists actually answered the "chicken or the egg" question
4XdXo TIL about the Peshtigo fire the deadliest wildfire in US history that killed around 1500 people. It's almost unknown because the more famous Great Chicago Fire happened on the same day.
wLv4M TIL it is thought that the genes for light skin appeared in Anatolia (the westernmost protrusion of Asia) by about 8,500 years ago, & only became widespread in Europe by about 5,000 years ago.
6EaYZ TIL up to 88% of parents of deaf children never learn ASL.