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TIL in Europe between 1550 and 1700 over 80,000 people were tried for witchcraft and half were executed - often burned alive. Data shows it was most intense where Catholic-Protestant rivalry was strongest and the phenomenon reached its zenith when there was “peak competition for Christian consumers"

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neaWB TIL that the final stage of the selection process for the British SAS is 36 hours of 'resistance to interrogation'. This process involves the use of multiple techniques that are against international law if used in a real interrogation.
WJ4B TIL that the Israeli postal service receives more than 1,000 letters addressed to “God” every year. Instead of disposing or archiving them, the undeliverable mail department opens them, and puts them between the cracks of the Western Wall.
EkDW TIL the first ever selfie was taken by Robert Cornelius, an amateur chemist and photography enthusiast from Philadelphia, in 1839. On the back he wrote “The first light Picture ever taken. 1839.”
78WAO TIL - According to a 2009 Sports Illustrated article, 60 percent of former NBA players are broke within five years of retirement. By the time they have been retired for two years, 78% of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress
wo5mW TIL North Americans have completely different definitions of frown than the rest of the world. For most of the world it's an expression done with the eyebrows, not the mouth.