› added 1 week ago

17

TIL that in 2012, a group of Saudi ghost hunters conducted a mas surprise raid on haunted sites in Saudi Arabia to look for djinn (Muslim mythological creatures similar to ghosts). The raids were initially successful, but were later foiled by Saudi police and 200 people were arrested.

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6EYWW TIL that Malt-O-Meal (makers of those "off brand" cereals) are owned by Post making them effectively not off brand at all
1ajRW TIL that it was possible to buy your way out of the Civil War draft, on both the Union and Confederate sides, if you had enough money to pay someone else to sign up in your place.
BgvQL TIL that MPGe, the miles per gallon equivalent for electric cars, actually measures miles per 33.7 kWh of battery charge, since 1 gallon of gas has the same theoretical energy capacity as 33.7kWh. But MPGe numbers tend to be much higher than MPG numbers because gas engines are so inefficient
oeJA TIL that in 1941, a British physicist guessed the major technical specifications of a Nazi bomber radio guidance system based solely on its code name, “Wotan”, and created effective countermeasures before it was even deployed.
J1p8l TIL New York City metropolitan region's GDP is above $2.5 trillion