› added 11 years ago

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TIL Andrew Carnegie spent $55 million of his own money to build 2,509 libraries around the English speaking world

Read more carnegie.org

via reddit.com

Oo4pg TIL that we have Star Wars to thank for the invention of Laser Tag
rWKw TIL in 1814, British soldiers invading Washington, DC arrived at the White House to find food, wine, and arrangements for a lavish dinner party Dolley Madison had prepared prior to fleeing the coming invasion. The soldiers sat and ate the meal and drank the wine. Then they burned down the house.
rRnAM TIL of heat death, where the universe will eventually turn into a cold void with no interactions between particles, its ultimate death
W7gGo TIL the term "Siamese twins" comes from the twin conjoined brothers Chang and Eng Bunker who were born in Siam, now Thailand. When they first arrived in England to become circus exhibits, they were called “The Siamese Twins.”
JpRv TIL that the star and crescent on the Turkish flag are unrelated to Islam. Instead, they represent the ancient Turkic sun and moon deities, Gün Ana and Ay Ata.