› added 5 years ago

178

TIL about a jewish tradition where couples are wed in a cemetary to combat plagues

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via reddit.com

nW87o TIL that Fallout began life as an official adaptation of the GURPS table-top RPG system. They fell out over the amount of violence in the game, and GURPS' publisher withdrew the license, but it remained a huge influence on the skill system.
vnDx TIL that the longest unbroken alliance in world history is between England and Portugal; it has been going for 631 years and still stands today.
LQrym TIL Hetty Green, the "Witch of Wall Street," became the wealthiest woman of the early 20th century, amassing a $100M fortune (~$2.7B today) by investing in real estate, railroads, and mortgages. Green was also a miser who wore the same black dress daily, ate only oatmeal, and lived in cheap housing.
5VA5k TIL we can divert lightning with powerful lasers
5YVbr TIL that actor Mark Wahlberg had a cocaine addiction at the age of 13. He was also charged with attempted murder at 16 after bashing a Vietnamese man over the head with a stick and shouting racial slurs at him.