Post * VryQ — Curious Curator

› added 9 years ago

107

TIL that China produces 20 million tons of garlic each year, four times more than the rest of the world combined. It’s more than 14kgs per capita annually.

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kOV51 TIL The Cullinan diamond, found in 1905, is the largest diamond ever discovered at 3,106 carat. A fake diamond was transported from South Africa to England via a guarded ship, while the real diamond was simply sent in the mail in a plain box.

8aoJL TIL the Great cheese riot of 1766 was a reaction to inflated cheese prices. The mayor tried to restore order but was knocked down by a cheese. The military were called & shots were fired, killing one man. He'd been guarding his cheeses

v1yVD TIL the words 'cream' and 'Christ' are cognates; they derive from the same root meaning 'anoint' (rubbing things together with oil both practically and religiously).

7ZPr TIL that John Paul I (1912-1978), the last pope who avoided the typical papal regalia and tried to make major progressive reforms to Church doctrine, died just one month into his papacy under mysterious circumstances. The Church has never investigated his death.

XEYQk TIL there was so much fruitless speculation about the origin of language that scholars now refer to silly theories by nicknames: the bow-wow, pooh-pooh, ding-dong, yo-he-ho, ta-ta and la-la theories.