› added 1 year ago

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TIL: The chemical compound Geosmin is not only the source for beets earthy taste but also the distinct smell after it rains.

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DQXaV TIL that Aphantasia is a neurological phenomenon where individuals can't create voluntary mental images, including visual, auditory, or sensory representations in the mind's eye.
6Ev8W TIL of Henri Giraud, who escaped German captivity in World War I by pretending to be a circus performer, and AGAIN in World War II by scaling down a mountain fortress in his 60s.
kPx5 TIL The combination of an exclamation point and question mark is an interrobang. (‽)
R7oG7 TIL West Virginia residents prefer hot dogs over hamburgers more so then any state. On a per capita annual basis West Virginians eat the most hot dogs of any state, and the least amount of hamburgers.
VMxrp TIL that about 50,000 British criminals were "transported" to the American colonies for either 7 or 14 years as punishment in leiu of the death sentence. It ended with the American Revolution. UK jails then became overcrowded until they created the new colony of Australia and the practice restarted