› added 4 years ago

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TIL about "Sludgefest". This is an album made by Brian Borcherdt in which he played old vinyls of Alvin and The Chipmunks on 16 RPM (instead of 33 RPM). This created a collision of pop vocals and sludge-filled doom metal instrumentals instead of the high-pitched songs you're used to.

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6MB7 TIL that no one, including an expert Belgian botanist, could find a method of pollination of vanilla to make it viable for cultivation outside of South America… until a 12-year-old slave named Edmond Albius discovered it could be hand-pollinated. This led to the global cultivation of the plant.
e0laE TIL in order to charge more for cinnamon Arab traders claimed that the sticks were used by deadly birds to build their nest. The only way to get it was to trick the bird into trying fill its nest with heavy pieces of meat. The nest would fall and the cinnamon would be taken before the birds attacked
awoXy TIL of the USS Mason, the only WWII destroyer with an all-black enlisted crew
KO06J TIL A 22 year old Chinese man known as 'C' his whole life was denied the right to continue using his name. The Chinese government does not recognise Latin characters. He could not provide evidence of the letter 'C' being in the National Chinese Standards of Letters and Symbols.
d8yZ7 TIL Chinese director Jia Zhangke has been praised as "the most important filmmaker working in the world today." Jia's status in China rose when he was allowed to direct his fourth feature film, The World, with state approval. His first short film was a documentary on tourists in Tiananmen Square