› added 4 years ago

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TIL that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi earns EGP 500,000 (currently equal to $31,500) annually, slightly less than the maximum wage for public sector employees - and he donates half of his salary to a public fund for economic and development projects

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R7bD6 TIL in the 1880s, many farmers communicated by connecting their phones to barbed wire fences. This process often allowed for up to 20 people to be connected at once, everyone’s phone would ring regardless of who called, and the invention helped many farmers overcome depression and loneliness.
LWap TIL when Winston Churchill was warned by the German foreign minister that if WWII were to occur, the Italians would be on the German side, he responded: “That’s only fair - we had them last time.”
BrlMb TIL that each verse of Carly Simon's You're So Vain was about a different man, and she's kept their names secret, except the 2nd verse, which she revealed is about Warren Beatty. Candidates range from Cat Stevens to David Bowie, and Simon herself ruled out Mick Jagger and her ex-husband James Taylor
EknP TIL gloves were introduced into boxing not for safety reasons but to increase hits to the head and dramatic knockouts.
oVyY TIL that suicide rates decreased during each of the world wars, perhaps because of the greater cohesion of society during war.