› added 9 years ago

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TIL of an Indian elite chef, about to take a new job in Switzerland was visiting family back home when he witnessed a starving old man eating feces for food. He was so shocked by the incident that he decided right there the he would instead spend the rest of his life feeding the poor and destitute.

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wvJM TIL that 100 years ago with WW1 raging, Pres. Woodrow Wilson didn’t want America led by a “lame duck” if he lost re-election. So, if he lost, he planned to appoint his OPPONENT as Secretary of State (3rd in line of succession) and then resign along with his VP, making his opponent instant President.
VbN4 TIL of the “Sisyphus Train,” a project currently underway in Nevada meant to recover surplus grid power that can’t be stored very easily. During the day, the excess power is used to drive the train up a hill. At night, the train rolls back down, generating it all back again.
E1EQP TIL an Ohio judge once sentenced a woman to spend day at the "stinkiest, smelliest" section of a landfill, as punishment for animal neglect. "If you puke, you puke"
0wP6L TIL the Vikings are considered to be precursors of modern democracies by political scientists: men and women gathered for assemblies called "Things" (þings) where they decided on laws and punishments for crimes
ADYP7 TIL tomatoes weren't commonly used in Italian cuisine until the 18th century. Tomatoes originated in North America and didn't arrive in Europe until after the discovery of the New World.