› added 4 years ago

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TIL in the Mughal Empire, which ruled South Asia in the 16th-18th centuries, the living standard and per-capita income were higher than in Britain (the highest in Europe); the price of grain was far lower than in Britain; and in 1600, 15% lived in urban areas - in Britain in 1700 it was only 13%

7rGdL TIL apes never ask questions. Apes are able to learn sign language and even communicate using it, apes have never attempted to learn new knowledge by asking humans or other apes. Apes can't realize that others can know things they don't. It's a concept that separates humans from apes.
dA9j TIL that the character King Julian from Madagascar was only meant to have a couple of lines, until they cast Sacha Baron Cohen and rewrote the script because his recordings were so funny.
OoA9a TIL about a man that taught himself how to pick the "unpickable" lock boxes of pay phones. He stole an estimated $500,000 in quarters from phones in 30 states, taunted the FBI, and was featured on America's Most Wanted twice. After getting caught, he had to pay back $800.
jNn1R TIL 98% of Latinos in USA do not like to identify themselves with Latinx label. Hispanic and Latino are still preferred terms
Ypw8B TIL during the Chernobyl meltdown, it was feared that molten fuel (corium) would reach flooded areas and explode. Three engineers tried to prevent this, but corium dopped into the water before they arrived. The fuel then cooled into a ceramic pumice and floated around the room, instead of exploding.