› added 4 years ago

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TIL about the dihydrogen monoxide parody, the action of calling water by an unfamiliar chemical name, listing "side effects" which are just scientific terms for harmless water-related bodily processes, and calling for it to be banned. This demonstrates the importance of scientific literacy.

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d81eB TIL of the Circassian genocide, in which 80-97% of the total population were either killed or expelled by the Russian Empire.
1axGO TIL Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Mario and Zelda, came up with the idea of Pikmin when gardening. He saw a line of ants carrying leaves towards their nest and wondered what the scene would look like if they were tiny people instead.
Z87mo TIL: In 1919, Henry Ford Announced His Retirement from the Company. The Share Price of Ford Motors Subsequently Collapsed. Shortly After, Ford Purchased Every Single Share for Pennies on the Dollar.
wLe71 TIL The term slave has its origins in the word slav. The slavs, who inhabited a large part of Eastern Europe, were taken as slaves by the Muslims of Spain during the ninth century AD.
R6WQ TIL that in Thailand, there is a prison program where prisoners fight foreign MMA fighters for their freedom. After winning 8 fights the prisoner is freed, if you lose a fight, you go back to general population where you never have a chance to fight again.