› added 6 years ago

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TIL there is believed to be only one remaining Jew in Afghanistan. He has special permission to butcher his own meat according to Kosher law, and is caretaker to the only remaining synagogue in Kabul. Despite his family having emigrated to Israel, he himself refuses: "Why should I leave?"

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lokK5 TIL that there is an extremely rare neurological disorder known as "Foreign Accent Syndrome"; persons of any culture, with no prior history of living in a foreign country or speaking its language, can start speaking with a perfect version of its accent, typically after a traumatic brain incident.
p1VQ TIL the sneezing reflex from looking at a bright light or the sun affects 18%-35% of the population, and the scientific name’s acronym is ACHOO.
KDAG TIL that when smoking tobacco, taking short quick puffs has a stimulating effect, while deep puffs induce sedation.
mMGx TIL: It Is Possible To Only Have High Blood Pressure In The Doctor’s Office And It Is Called “White Coat Syndrome”
69XDY TIL that there are only 20 ancient lakes (defined as carrying water for more than a million years) in the world, with only 3 in North America (Tahoe, Tule, Pingualuk). Nearly all are tectonic (i.e. rift zones) in origin, however 2 are from meteorite craters (Pingualuk in Canada, Bosumtwi in Ghana)