› added 8 years ago

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TIL: A French mathematician named Abraham de Moivre claimed that he noted that he was sleeping an extra 15 minutes each night and calculated the date of his death as the day when the sleep time reached 24 hours, the date was November 27, 1754. On that exact same day, Moivre was found dead in London.

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9GrQ TIL that the Beijing Weather Modification Office is tasked with creating rain to end drought, reduce dust storms and prevent unwanted rain, and that between 1995 and 2003, China added 7.4 trillion cubic feet of rainfall artificially.
KeAa TIL: Brazil imported 11 times more slaves than the United States; Rio alone was home to more slaves than the entire American South
Y7Dmv TIL the use of iron maidens as a medieval torture device is considered to be a myth
AD04g TIL that when Plato gave the definition of man as “featherless bipeds,” Diogenes plucked a chicken and brought it into Plato’s Academy, saying, “Behold! I’ve brought you a man,” and so the Academy added “with broad flat nails” to the definition.
1axP7 TIL that in 2016 France blocked an attempt by Belgium to issue a 2-euro coin commemorating the anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. Using a loophole in Eurozone guidelines, Belgium simply minted a 2.50-euro commemorative coin and put it into circulation anyway