› added 5 years ago

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TIL that Ecuador is named after being on the equator and is in fact the only country in the world named after a geographical feature

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QoxE TIL that the original ketchup was a fish sauce and based on the Chinese word for that sauce, and it turns out that in Chinese, “ketchup” also happens to be a homophone for “tomato sauce”, which is what ketchup became.
XEBQE TIL that there is a pineapple on top of the Wimbledon trophy likely because it used to be a symbol of prestige at the time when the trophy was designed
0weD1 TIL that Oral Re-hydration Therapy is a very effective and cheap treatment for dehydration that often goes un-used because IV fluids can be billed for much more.
oBRk8 TIL that archers don't actually grip their bows. That's why after a shot the bow tips downwards, swinging from a sling on their hand.
4kbWw TIL French cyclist Jean Robic would cheat in the Tour De France downhill sections by having an assistant give him a lead or mercury filled water bottle for the descent. Because of this his nickname was "The Heavy Metal Descender".