› added 9 years ago

100

TIL that at the start of the 19th century an estimated ¾ of all living people were kept against their will either in some form of slavery or serfdom

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MNpA TIL Before 1956, troops of people went around detaching doors and smashing locks on abandoned refrigerators because refrigerator doors could only be opened with a latch from outside and children would often die after locking themselves inside during play.
xVKZB TIL that when working on "Avengers: Infinity War", the directors considered including a Sherlock Holmes joke when Iron Man meets Doctor Strange, as both actors had portrayed the characters in other media. They decided against it because they thought the joke would be too obvious.
GAk0g TIL there is no difference between white and yellow cheddar cheese aside from the added food coloring.
YpLAP TIL the term "silhouette" has a political backstory. King Louis XV's General of Finances, Étienne de Silhouette, had a reputation for being cheap. Shadow portraits became popular during his tenure and got named after him due to being very cheap to make compared to commissioning a painting of oneself
gLxX TIL that over 1,000,000 Euros are thrown into the Trevi fountain every year. The money is used to subsidize a supermarket for the needy.