› added 1 year ago

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TIL that during the 17th century, coffeehouses were so popular in England that they were often referred to as "Penny Universities". For the price of a penny, one could buy a cup of coffee and engage in stimulating conversation on a wide range of topics, from politics to literature.

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N7wNN TIL less than 100,000 giraffes are left in the wild. In the last 30 years populations have dropped 40%. In the last 10 years 40,000 Giraffe parts have been imported to the USA. Giraffes are facing ‘silent extinction’.
ANpgg TIL that rents have been rising so much because of a software called YieldStar, which tells landlords the maximum they can raise the rent and profit
oBMR TIL that Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s tyrannical leader, has been appointed UN ambassador for tourism despite being accused of ethnic cleansing, vote rigging and being unable to leave Zimbabwe due to a travel ban.
OoDw1 TIL about Lt Commander Joseph Vaghi. He was an US Beachmaster during the invasion of Normandy on D-Day, acting as a "traffic cop" orienting the landing troops. Giving orders under heavy machine gun fire, he ran into an old classmate, who asked him, "Hi Joe, what the hell are you doing here?"
LQXm9 TIL about Detective Frank Salerno who had the unprecedented task of not only bringing the infamous serial killer Richard Ramirez to justice in 1985, but was also instrumental in The Hillside Stranglers arrests in 1979.