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TIL that the fear of long words is called Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia. The 36-letter word was first used by the Roman poet Horace to criticise those writers with an unreasonable penchant for long words. It was an American poet, Aimee Nezheukumatathil, to rediscover it.

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yQowp TIL the Queen uses her purse (handbag) to send secret messages to her staff, such as swapping which shoulder it is on when she's done talking with a particular person and wants an excuse to leave the conversation.
5Yv1R TIL in 1886, the Germans sent a mission to Chile to help train and modernise the Chilean army. As a result of the Germans overhaul of their army, the ceremonial uniforms, weapons and marching songs are all German or German based, and military parades look like a step into Germany 150 years ago.
lPpB TIL that the disease polio could be eradicated, but isn’t currently because certain Muslim clerics encourage their patrons not to get vaccinated.
Mw47 TIL The kid’s television show LazyTown used Unreal Engine during filming to render it’s environments in real time.
J1Ljv TIL that the writer of the 90s' comedy classic "Fatal Instinct" wanted the film to be titled "Triple Indemnity", but it was rejected by MGM's executives, who thought that viewers would not understand the reference. Mel Brooks suggested "Frontal Attraction" as a new title, but his idea was ignored.