› added 8 years ago

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TIL That there is a village in Austria named Fucking where the road signs were frequently stolen by English-speaking tourists. The mayor said that tourists, and the money they bring to the area, were welcome, but locals were sick of replacing the Fucking signs.

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8eRkL TIL that there's something called the "preparedness paradox." Preparation for a danger (an epidemic, natural disaster, etc.) can keep people from being harmed by that danger. Since people didn't see negative consequences from the danger, they wrongly conclude that the danger wasn't bad to start with
pvNQ TIL that there is a skyscraper in Manhattan that doesn’t have any windows at all
GYpVQ TIL on the upper floors of the 2700-ft Burj Khalifa skyscraper, the sun is still seen for several minutes after it has set at ground level. Dubai clerics have ruled that residents above the 80th floor should wait 2 additional minutes to break their Ramadan fast, and those above the 150th, 3 minutes.
a8ORb TIL in 1979 researcher John Merritt placed a photographic memory test in publications across the US. He estimated that roughly 1 million people took the test & of that number, 30 wrote in with the correct answer. However, when he visited 15 of them in their homes, not one could duplicate the feat.
Rjl1 TIL: Decorative Five Pointed metal stars–Barnstars–derived from Amish barn-painted symbols or “Hex Signs”, which were borrowed from witchcraft / Germanic paganism as magical protection against misfortune