› added 7 years ago

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TIL Andrew Carnegie gave away more than 90% of his wealth, with much of it going to found 2509 public libraries at an inflation-adjusted cost of more than $1.3 billion

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a8VKM TIL that the distinctive smells that new electronics and cars have are due to the substances that hold the dang thing together. These substances (adhesives, plasticizers, etc.) contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs evaporate at or below room temperature and enters our nose as odor.
nJ4G TIL that there were only two black combat pilots in the First World War. Eugene Bullard was an African-American who served with the French Air Force and Ahmet Ali Çelikten, an Arab-African who flew with the Ottoman Air Force… placing them both on opposite sides of the conflict.
xVYbk TIL that in most legal systems, a bank deposit of money is not a bailment. In other words, when you deposit cash to a bank, the funds deposited are no longer your property. You merely loaned the money to the bank for a promised interest without security.
R7G96 TIL that Aboriginal Australians often traveled to Indonesia for trade, and when British explorers first visited inland Australia they met an Aboriginal man who had already learned English from his visit to Singapore.
Xydr TIL that the Egyptians were the only ancient culture to recognize blue as being distinct from green. Today, certain tribes, such as the Himba people in Namibia, cannot make the distinction.