› added 11 years ago

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TIL over half of all fourth-graders in U.S. public schools received free or subsidized ($0.40) lunches in 2011

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dAP7 TIL Beer steins originally did not have lids. They were added during the age of the Black Plague, to prevent diseased fleas from getting into the beer.
v1omj TIL that Vikings were keen skiers, they even worshipped a god in its name. Medieval sources have very limited material on the god Ullr, but he's almost always shown on skis carrying a bow. In one text, it is said that Ullr can be called ski-god, bow-god, hunting-god and shield-god.
l6RV TIL that there’s more people speaking french in Africa than in France
jN7Ya TIL in 1990 43 out of the 45 climbers attempting Lenin Peak were buried in an avalanche. The two survivors could hear their comrades shouting for help hours after the slide, but failed in any attempts to rescue them as the ice set like concrete immediately
v1KBx TIL that the creator of peanut M&Ms, Forrest Mars, was actually allergic to peanuts