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TIL The offensive term 'Mongoloid' or 'Mongol' derives from an old word for people with Downs Syndrome. This was due to the shape of their eyes, with the epicanthic fold resembling that of the Mongolian race.

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PYxwO TIL In Okinawa, Japan, a place where the average life expectancy for women is around 90, the oldest in the world, people form a kind of social network called a moai — a group of five friends who offer social, logistic, emotional and even financial support for a lifetime.
v1Wxj TIL in the year 1900, the black plague came to California, causing years of politicians and businessmen denying the existence of any plague while scientists tried to stop its spread. At least 172 people died over the following 8 years. There is still an average of 7 cases every year in the USA.
dDw9B TIL in Japan raw eggs are generally safe to eat. This is because the country has developed a "super egg machine" that checks the inside of the eggs for salmonella using spectroscopic analysis. It also cleans the eggs without breaking their shells, dries them, and packages them so they are safe.
69Dom TIL Since the Foreign Secretary was in transit to Moscow when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Winston Churchill was the one who drafted the UK’s declaration of war. He later wrote "Some people did not like this ceremonial style. But after all when you have to kill a man it costs nothing to be polite."
Z0rQ TIL that in Texas some convicts are offered decades long prison sentences or forced book club meetings while on parole