› added 9 months ago

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TIL that the first historical mosque in the world (built by Muhammad himself) was torn down and replaced by the Saudi government in 1984.

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OGa7a TIL I learned that the fledgling Casablanca Records was saved from extinction by singing Donna Summer after the label went $7 million in debt on a live album of Johnny Carson which returned more copies than sold.
bKn7 TIL that British colonials in India used gin to cover the bitter taste of anti-malarial quinine tonic, thus creating the Gin & Tonic.
w9lP TIL that East St. Louis has a higher murder rate than Honduras, the country with the highest murder rate in the world
KOL4J TIL Cosmetic companies list water as "aqua" because they are abiding by the INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients) which is a naming system for oils, pigments, chemicals, and other ingredients of cosmetics. This way everyone knows exactly what's what when they read the label.
PdAL TIL that whilst left-handed and right-handed people have similar IQ scores, people who identify as ambidextrous have significantly lower levels - particularly in arithmetic, memory and reasoning. The exact reason for this is unknown.