› added 3 years ago

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TIL Socrates suggested a passive solar design for Greek houses. All openings faced south and roofs were angled north. Houses remained cool during summer since the roof provided shade, and warm during winter since the roof deflected cold north winds and sunlight entered through the south openings.

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4X886 TIL that there are several organizations that sell only one shoe instead of a pair for amputees, so they don’t have to buy a pair of shoes when they only need one. They also accept donations of the unused shoes that amputees don’t need, if they bought a pair and only need one.
PY4OJ TIL Amerigo Vespucci (and by extension, America) may have been named after St. Emericus of Hungary. St. Emericus died at 24 during a boar hunt, and was only canonized 52 years later after a series of miracles occured at his grave. His bones were dug up for the ceremony.
WZxd TIL: HYDROX is the original and OREO is the knockoff. Sunshine made Hydrox in 1908 and Oreo copied it in 1912, yet Hydrox is perceived as the knockoff. Hydrox cookies have a tangy, less-sweet filling and a crunchier cookie that gets less soggy in milk. Hydrox will relaunch nationally in 2015.
99gp TIL there are actually seven different types of Kryptonite in the Superman comics universe causing different reactions, including Pink Kryptonite that makes Kryptonians like Superman gay.
NJob TIL: Angel dust (PCP) is still a Schedule 2 drug, while marijuana is still Schedule 1, lawfully making pot worse than angel dust and as bad as heroin in the eyes of the law.