› added 12 years ago

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TIL That cigarettes (nicotine) are more addictive than cocaine, amphetamine pills, methadone, alcohol, and crystal meth. It is tied with crack cocaine for addictive qualities, and is only beaten out by heroin.

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OG5ra TIL in 1935, Major League Baseball player Len Koenecke was beaten to death on an airplane after trying to take control of the airplane.
5YwJ8 TIL that ketchup was popular long before fresh tomatoes were. People were less hesitant to eat tomatoes as part of a highly processed product that had been cooked and infused with vinegar and spices.
GAkm4 TIL in Swahili time the day starts at 6 am. Due to being on the equator, Swahili speakers have nearly perfect 12-hour days & nights. The clock starts with a 12 on bottom and then counts the hours after sunrise. 1:00 Swa = 7:00 standard. 6:00 Swa = Noon standard. The hour hand follows the sun’s path.
4XKXg TIL that film director Akira Kurosawa hired expert archers to shoot real arrows at Toshiro Mifune while he dodged them in choreographed movements. Mifune’s visible terror is quite real.
9wYmD TIL: Ordinary ice is called ice Ih, because it has hexagonal crystals. But if you cool it below -37 °C, scientists believe it will gradually turn into a cubic form, called ice Ic.