› added 3 weeks ago

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TIL that measles is descended from rinderpest, a cattle disease eradicated by humans. A single outbreak in Africa from 1982–1984 destroyed $2 billion dollars in value, while the price of eliminating rinderpest globally was $5 billion.

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1a4N8 TIL: At the first major battle of the American Civil War, the wealthy elite of nearby Washington expected an easy Union victory. So much so that they brought their families to picnic and watch the battle.
L9Gm TIL that because of Delaware, corporate transparency is essentially a joke in the US. Delaware gets a huge portion of the state budget from incorporations while asking little about the identity of the true owner which attracts major money laundering criminals from all over the world.
O8g TIL That Facebook owns hundreds of Domain names, including faceboo.com, fb.com, and IHateTheFacebookLikeButton.com
RDw6 TIL German shepherds where renamed to “Alsatian Wolf Dog” after World War I due to the anti-German sentiment of the era.
gNA8 TIL that despite popular belief, there has never been a report of someone handing out poisoned candy to strangers on Halloween.