› added 10 years ago

401

TIL that some infinities are larger than others

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GO84 TIL of French Treasury Chief Etienne de Silhouette, whose penny-pinching ways inspired the term ‘à la Silhouette’ for things perceived as austere. These included a newly popular form of portraiture using a shadow profile cut from black paper.
yYd8 TIL there was a Jewish boxer named Salamo Arouch imprisoned at Auschwitz. He was forced to fight fellow prisoners. The losers were sent to the gas chambers or shot. He survived more than 2 years and 200 fights, eventually being released when the camp was liberated.
wYb1 TIL the Grateful Dead provided funding for the Lithuanian national basketball team for the 1992 Olympics since the squad could not afford to participate. They wore tie-died jerseys during games and donned full Dead regalia during the medal ceremony for winning 3rd place.
E1Erd TIL that when cable was introduced it was advertised as having no commercials due to being a paying service.
awEEy TIL that the Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha) the emblem for Australia contains a psychoactive alkaloid called DMT.