› added 9 months ago

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TIL associating Republicans with red and Democrats with blue wasn't widespread until 2000. Before then, presidential maps most commonly showed the opposite, which was changed to disassociate the Democratic Party from socialism.

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9vQX TIL as many as 800 languages are spoken in New York City, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world.
bK5j TIL that in 2009 OkCupid statistics showed that women rate 80% of men “below average”
Xml6 TIL the Aral Sea, once the 4th largest lake in the world, has been steadily shrinking since the 1960’s. It’s now 1/10th the original size. Nearly 90% of the water has now given way to sandy desert with wrecks of beached boats dotting the surface.
Z9MQ TIL North Korea classifies each of its citizens into one of three groups (called Songbun:) the “core class,” the “wavering class,” and the “hostile class.”
neQvG TIL: Closing your eyes when in complete darkness improves your overall perception