› added 11 years ago

200

TIL currently in Mauritania 680,000 or 20% of the population is enslaved.

Read more cnn.com

via reddit.com

9w7BB TIL that the longest javelin throw was 99.52 meters using a now illegal technique that was considered "out of control". No one has broken this record with modern javelin rules.
KOP6a TIL: "Cotton Eye Joe" by Rednex is based on a classic American folk song with a history dating back to before the American Civil War. The earliest known recordings are from the 1920s and it's been recorded numerous times since then, including a beautiful version by Nina Simone (link in the comments)
Y7WRr TIL that based on the lowest estimation of the death toll, France killed, in average, 130 Algerians everyday, during the Algerian war.
94V7 TIL that a man escaped from slavery, by not running away, but by mailing himself through the post office to a free state
l445 TIL that a US poll conducted in 2016 found, for the 8th year in a row, that “whatever” is considered to be the most annoying word.