› added 8 years ago

92

TIL that caribou is simply the North American name for reindeer.

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8e0X8 TIL the 1939 Nazi rally at Nuremberg was supposed to be "the Rally of Peace". It was cancelled last-minute because Germany invaded Poland, igniting the Second World War.
DQ0Mv TIL that ancient Native Americans consumed a highly caffeinated ceremonial beverage of roasted holly leaves called cacina, or black drink. Conquistadores who consumed the drink daily provide some of the earliest written accounts of caffeine addiction.
9YXOX TIL of Japan's "Okinoshima", an island off-limits to women. Access is only granted to 200 men for one day every year after they purify themselves in the surrounding sea.
j6EpM TIL that the Danish word for "Pimp" is "Alfons," after the protagonist in the play Monsieur Alphonse by Alexandre Dumas, fils. As a result, although "Alfons" is the name of a popular children's book character, the name remains very rare. As of 2016, only 8 people were named "Alfons" in Denmark.
XXjP TIL that in 1740, Christina Johansdotter, a suicidal Swedish woman, exploited a loophole in dogmas. Suicide leading to Hell and infanticides being punishable by death, she decided to kill a child since repenting for a crime granted forgiveness, thus leading her to Heaven after her execution.