› added 1 year ago

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TIL that the first Winter Olympics took place in Chamonix, France in 1924, only four nations participated in the inaugural event.

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m1VRE TIL Mount Everest is named after Sir George Everest despite him having zero connection to the mountain (he never even saw it) and against his own wishes. He objected to the naming on the grounds that "Everest" could not be easily written in Hindi nor pronounced by the local people.
wLxm7 TIL that the women who work in the garment recycling industry in India have a theory that because of a water shortage in the West, it must be cheaper to buy new clothes than to wash them. This explains why so many clothes are discarded barely worn. (Link fixed)
R5KVl TIL about the Hundred Flowers Campaign (1956–57) in China, where the government briefly encouraged open criticism and debate, only to later suppress dissent through arrests and crackdowns.
44Ko TIL that the ancient Greeks had a goddess for sloth and laziness, Aergia.
woOwo TIL that in 1939, African-American singer Marian Anderson was denied permission to perform at Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution. The Hall had a white performers-only policy. Anderson responded by giving an open-air concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.