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467

We could do it, but should we?

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kO5eg TIL that names like escalator, heroin, flip phone, and videotape where all once trademarked before they were genericized which is when a trademark becomes so important and synonymous with a type of product that it becomes a generic term
dMxr TIL that the vast majority (approx. 75%) of the world’s tornadoes occur in the central United States.
KOepR TIL that in 1969, a civil war in Nigeria held a ceasefire for a couple of days to watch a match of Pelé’s Santos. The governor decreted a holiday and opened the city’s bridge without any restrictions so everyone could watch the game.
mpXE TIL: After 18+ years marooned on an island, the real-life heroine the novel The Island of the Blue Dolphins died just 7 weeks after being rescued
JxdB TIL about the blue-ringed octopus, which despite being only 5-8 inches in size, carries enough venom to kill 26 humans within minutes. The bites are tiny and painless, with some victims not aware they were bit until paralysis sets in.