› added 10 years ago

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TIL there are more jails and prisons than colleges and universities in the USA

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DQpZe TIL about Tartary, the historical name for Central Asia and Siberia, which has sparked conspiracy theories about a hidden past and mud floods. This globalized version posits that demolished buildings, like the Singer Building and parts of different Worlds Fairs, were involved in the cover up
E117x Short answer: Skin protects itself, hair doesn't.
LxkZ TIL that the word “billion” (or its relevant translation) is by no means ubiquitous throughout the world; in many countries it means 1 million million, and even Great Britain used this system until 1974.
rQ40 TIL that in 1312, a few Cockchafer Beetles, which were a major pest for crop farmers, were brought into a courtroom in Avignon and ordered to withdraw to designated territory. When the beetles (obviously) didn’t comply, they were collected and killed.
6E1LX TIL about Chris Lee Burden, an American performance artist most well known for his work Shoot (1971), in which he had a friend shoot him in the arm using a small-caliber rifle.