› added 4 years ago

62

TIL that Shaq joined the Freemasons in 2011

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8ex5X TIL: The U.S., Australia, Canada, and New Zealand all had inheritance taxes (i.e., wealth taxes), but they repealed them not so long ago.
e0mmb TIL that the practice of playing music for callers on hold began with a faulty phone line connection. A loose wire touching the steel frame of an office building caused it to act as a giant radio receiver, allowing callers to hear music from local radio stations while they waited on hold.
YN7d TIL there is a secular alternative to Alcoholics Anonymous known as SMART recovery that is based more on Contemporary therapeutic techniques.
9w5a6 TIL: In Native American mythology there is a Deer Woman, a beautiful woman with deer feet and other features. She lures men to their deaths. However, the Lakota say that if you sleep with her as a man, you go insane, while women get sexual and artistic powers .
mxAEY TIL of the land of brushes. Kumano city in Japan's Hiroshima prefecture is famous for producing handmade brushes that are used by Hollywood makeup artists among others. But it only specialized in brushmaking after farmers had to sell brushes to earn an income during the agricultural off season.