› added 3 years ago

105

TIL that St. Nicholas of Myra, upon whom Santa Claus is based, is the patron saint of prostitutes

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loj8K TIL Studies have confirmed talking on a cellphone is as dangerous as driving drunk. Hands-free cellphone usage is as bad or worse than handheld usage and texting while driving is 17 times more dangerous than driving drunk.
BgQ4x TIL about the Bouba-Kiki effect: When presented with two shapes, one rounded and one “sharp”, people from most cultures, languages and age groups will strongly tend to associate “Kiki” with the sharp and “Bouba” with the rounded.
8ewD4 TIL The Chicago gangster Hymie Weiss had terminal cancer which allowed him to recklessly ignore his own safety. Weiss led a gang war against Al Capone, shooting up Capone's car and hotel, making him "the only man Al Capone feared". Ultimately Weiss was assassinated on October 11th, 1926.
lbAB TIL that in 480 BC, the Persians’ bridges were destroyed by storms as they invaded Greece. King Xerxes then ordered his men to give the sea three hundred whip lashes, to throw fetters into it and to burn it with red hot irons. Meanwhile, the punishers were to shout “you are a turbid and briny river”
78wwX TIL the US government recalled and burned $200m in currency and printed special money for Hawaii in case Japan invaded