› added 1 year ago

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TIL former dictator of Turkmenistan Saparmurat Niyazov ordered the closure of all libraries outside the capital in the belief that all Turkmen are illiterate.

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DQe5e TIL Coffee lowers risk of heart problems, early death, stroke, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, type 2 diabetes, liver disease, and prostate cancer.
oRAgK TIL that in 1841, when President William Henry Harrison died just 31 days into his term, it wasn’t clear if the Vice President should become President. Vice President John Tyler took matters into his own hands and arranged for a judge to administer the Oath of Office in his hotel room.
yWWv TIL After the attack on Pearl harbor, Hawaii was issued their own currency in case the Japanese was successful in taking over the island.
o8MK TIL that beer hops contain “Hop Beta Acids” that research has shown to kill varroa mites, a parasite killing off honey bee colonies, without any affect on bees. The research has been so promising that the EPA has approved its use without further testing, due to the long history of hops in brewing.
l7OG TIL that the reason Kevin Carter waited 20 minutes before taking his controversial Pulitzer Prize winning photo of the starving Sudanese child is because he was waiting for the vulture to spread its wings. It didn’t in the end, so he took the photo and moved on.