› added 8 months ago

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TIL about the Count of St. Germain who was an 18th-century adventurer who achieved prominence in European high society, but nothing is known about him because he kept lying about it. He knew many languages. He was a musical composer and violinist. He knew history, and was an accomplished chemist.

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e0AxL TIL that "Banana Republic" was coined as a political term referring to a country(s) (Honduras and neighbors) that were exploited by a corporation (United Fruit Co.) for specific exports (yes, bananas). It is typically ruled by plutocracy and has a large poor working class that is also exploited.
VLnp TIL: the “1 in 5 college girls are sexually assaulted” study included “forced kissing” and “sexual activity while intoxicated” as sexual assault, which is how they got the 1 in 5 number.
YdvG TIL there is a planned theme park in London called ‘London Paramount’ that will cost £2bn and be 1.5x the size of Disneyland and have BBC themed rides such as Doctor Who
PYVKw TIL The National Archives sells a replica of the Resolute desk for $8000.
jvOR TIL A writer from Wired tried to vanish for 30 days and Wired offered $5,000 to anyone who could find him. Knowing he was allergic to gluten they found him in the only gluten free pizza place where he was staying.