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TIL In 1511, the governor of Mecca wanted to to close coffee houses, fearing they were centres of uprising. Anyone caught drinking or selling coffee was beaten.

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xBg TIL that Arabic numerals were not invented by Arabs, but by Indian mathematicians
4MDw TIL a man named James Harrison pledged to donate blood once he turned 18 after needing 13 liters of blood during a major chest surgery at 13. It was discovered that his blood contained a rare antigen which cured Rhesus disease. He has donated blood more than 1,000 times, saving over 2,000,000 lives.
erAn TIL France wants to ensure all new rooftops must be topped with either solar panels or plants
v98K TIL that our oxygen doesn’t come from only trees. In actuality, about 70% of earth’s oxygen comes from the oceans (mainly small marine organisms called phytoplankton).
ADeA4 TIL the reason why businesses refer to the Super Bowl in their advertisements as "The Big Game" is because the NFL owns the trademark to the phrase "Super Bowl" and will severely crack down on any business that uses those words without officially licensing it from the NFL