› added 2 years ago

94

TIL that the “@“ sign, or asperand, has been around since the mid-1500s and is not a product of the Internet age, as some might think, let alone the 20th century.

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BrpGx TIL Potato chip packets are made noisy to make you think the chips are crunchier. There is no reason in terms of product preservation for the noisy packets.
P1MlE TIL the Anga people of Papua New Guinea smoke their dead to preserve them
rNdry TIL in WW2 the British, with the help of a professional magician, tricked the Germans into thinking that a British double-agent had successfully sabotaged an airplane factory.
4XdVX TIL cougars are the largest cat to meow/purr. Large cats that roar are incapable of making these noises due to tough cartilage that prevents the larynx from vibrating.
RbK8 TIL Nazi censors wrote to J.R.R. Tolkien, inquiring whether he was of Jewish decent to see if they needed to ban his books in Germany. Tolkien wrote back saying he wished he could be so lucky.