› added 8 years ago

84

TIL back in 1894 the British Government did an inquiry into cannabis use in India, and concluded that “moderate use practically produces no ill effects”.

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16wjP TIL that in December 2013 a sophomore at Harvard University sent several bomb threats through the Tor network to cancel a political history exam he was unprepared for. He succeeded, but was caught that same day.
woDv1 TIL that Zambia is the only country to have changed its name and flag between the opening and closing ceremonies of an Olympic Games. They entered as a British colony and exited as an independent nation.
lob6A TIL - Failure to learn the Mayan Nixtamalization method of preparing corn (maize) lead to Pellagra epidemics in Europe, Africa, and southern USA. Nixtamalization frees the amino acid Niacin. Nixtamalized corn and beans is a complete protein diet and became the staple food in Central America.
gMe49 TIL that in the 1950s a man said to his lover that no woman could write erotica like the Marquis de Sade. In response, Anne Desclos wrote a novel that was so obscene that the French authorities tried to take the publisher to court, and Desclos kept her name secret for forty years.
D1JJJ Today I learned that that skin flap on cats' stomachs is not due to overweight. Instead they may serve to protect the cat's internal organs when in fights. It also allows for the cats to stretch more when running/jumping and provides room for an extended belly in case of a bigger than usual meal.