› added 5 years ago

68

TIL that it currently takes more information to obtain a library card than to form a US company

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1aOJd TIL The Spanish Flu effected the entire world, killing more than 50 million. The outbreak was during WWI and to keep morale high, wartime censors for many countries minimized it. Papers were free to report its effects in neutral Spain causing many to think it was largely confined to that country.
b9Gb7 TIL that 75 percent of all silent films ever made are estimated to be completely lost, as well as half of all films made from 1927 to 1950
nW68P TIL that the landmark pamphlet "Understanding AIDS" was the single largest mass mailing in American history. Spearheaded by Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, it reached 107 million American households, and set standards for sex education regarding the disease. 80% of people read at least part of it.
KOAPE TIL that in 1955, the Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo company leader Akio Morita explained that the company name would be difficult to pronounce in foreign lands. Changing it to Sony Corporation would allow them to expand worldwide.
kONwm TIL that the Medici Family build a elevated walkway in Florence in 1565 just to avoid contact with the common people. They even connected it to their private lodge at the Felicica Church and moved the Ponte Vecchio meat market to avoid the smells.