› added 8 months ago

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TIL that Alexander the Great apparently slept with an annotated copy of his favorite book, the Iliad, given to him by his tutor Aristotle under his pillow along with a dagger to harm anyone that tried to take it from him while he slept.

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YpxDd TIL diet soda triggers an insulin response just like regular soda and may cause weight gain and increase risk of type 2 diabetes
Y76pv TIL: That there is an area of the UK simply referred to as the "Black Country". It's said that the Black Country gained its name in the mid 19th century from the smoke from the many thousands of ironworks and forges. The term is used as a marketing tool to sell and promote the West Midlands.
b9Jr9 TIL That the 'Live aid' concert in 1985 was trying to raise money for a famine in Ethiopia. However the money ended up funding Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam and his genocide regime. The money he received went to "buy sophisticated weapons from the Russians" used to crush his opposition.
xV8Rk TIL of Matvey Kuzmin, known as 'Lone Wolf', the oldest person to be awarded Hero of the Soviet Union. During WW2, a Nazi battalion paid him to lead them to the rear of Russian defenses. Instead, he led the battalion directly into an ambush. Realizing his betrayal, the Nazis killed him. He was 83.
Oom6X TIL that during the Joker Pencil Trick scene in The Dark Knight was as dangerous as it looked. Charles Jarman, who played the Pencil Trick Thug, stated that he had to remove the pencil, in order to make it look realistic, before Joker (played by Heath Ledger) slammed his head on the table.