› added 10 years ago

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TIL The Pennsylvania Dutch aren’t actually Dutch, they are German. Upon arrival, they were saying “Deutsch” which is German for, well, German. Germany in the their native language is “Deutschland.” English speaking Americans just assumed they were saying “Dutch.”

65Vl TIL that Iceland let its three largest banks fail, instead of bailing them out. It ensured that tax payers got their money back and gave debt relief to struggling homeowners and to businesses facing bankruptcy. And their economy is booming!
X0VQr TIL the zipper scene from the 1998 film There’s Something About Mary was inspired by a real incident. According to Bobby Farrelly, when he was younger, his sister’s friend used the bathroom and “...zipped himself up. He was in there a long time. My dad had to go in and say, 'Hey, kid. You alright?'"
1aa7O TIL that the Catholic Church specifically taught that indulgences do not affect whether or not a person goes to heaven. However, greedy "pardoners" lied about this and promised things like eternal salvation in return for money to increase donations. This led to Martin Luther's 95 Theses.
P1O5E TIL about penitentes, spikes of snow that typically form in high-altitude areas. They can get as tall as 20 feet in the right conditions and are known to be very hard to break.
neMKG TIL that phone numbers with more than seven digits (E.G. +1 (800) ACCIDENT) Are registered as seven digits. Example: Calling 1 800 PROGRESSIVE is the same as calling 1 800 PROGRES.