› added 11 years ago

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TiL that as recently as 2012, the black death was reported in Oregon and Colorado.

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nWGeb TIL of Mariya Oktyabrskaya. When her soldier husband was killed in 1941, she sold her possessions, bought a T34 tank nicknamed The Fighting Girlfriend and relentlessly fought Nazis. When the vehicle took a hit, and despite orders, Maria jumped out of the tank to fix it under enemy fire.
v1Wmr TIL that the name of the mathematical function sin comes from the word "bosom" which was a mistranslation from Arabic
4kAVa TIL that there is a role in system of Bosnia and Herzegovina that has the power to remove public officials from office and pass laws, although it's exclusively held by foreigners
p8yXQ TIL that the name "cola" for the beverage originated from the "kola" nut used to make caffeinated beverages in Africa
e06lk TIL that a brother-sister duo in Iceland would have different surnames. As a surname; the boy gets his father's first name with a '-son' in the end, the girl also gets the father's first name but with a '-dottir' in the end. Ultimately they end up having different surnames.