› added 1 month ago

7

TIL about the Scoppio Del Carro in Florence, Italy. This 300 year old Easter celebration shoots a flaming mechanical bird into a cart full of fireworks. A successful explosion means good luck in the future!

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via reddit.com

ZpvOY TIL that the anti-AIDS drug Ritonavir had to be taken off the market after scientists accidentally synthesized a second, medically useless form of the drug. The new form assimilated all the samples it touched, making them equally useless. A microscopic quantity of it was enough to halt production.
jxDa TIL that personal, home possession of up to 4 oz of pot has been legal in Alaska since 1975
m1Nvp TIL that Scrabo Tower was built in Northern Ireland to honor land owner Charles Stewart the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry because of his kindness to his tenants and servants during the Potato Famine. His effort to ease their suffering was rare in 1840’s Ireland during the famine.
5kWD TIL Hugh Hefner worked as a copywriter for Esquire magazine, from where he resigned in Jan 1952 after being denied a $5 raise. 11 months later, he published the first issue of Playboy, featuring Marilyn Monroe.
EggP0 TIL that during The Great Migration, Detroit's African American population increased 2000% in just 19 years (1910-1929)