› added 11 years ago

90

TIL that in old Marvel comics, the mafia is called “the Maggia” to avoid offending the real mafia, who controlled comic book distribution.

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oRB7R TIL NYC could have been even larger. A referendum was held on the consolidation of NYC in 1894, which included residents of all the modern Boroughs as well as communities in Westchester County. Voters in Mount Vernon and Yonkers rejected consolidation.
69rEl TIL of Gelae, a genus of small brown beetles found in North and Central America. Notable members include Gelae baen, Gelae rol, Gelae belae and Gelae donut.
rRy8y TIL 15% of the population of Hong Kong (500,000) died in an influenza pandemic in 1968
9wrKD TIL nearly 24% of women living in England in the year 1800 were named Mary while nearly 22% of the men were named John. The popularity of the names declined over the years to nearly 4% and 5% respectively by 1994.
rMl1 TIL A man who was attacked and beaten outside of a bar turned into a math genius. Jason Padgett never made it past pre-algebra but after the injury, he began seeing the world in pixelated, geometrics shapes, understood the concept of pi and had a sudden ability to hand-draw complex fractals