› added 3 months ago

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TIL despite having less than 0.5% of the world's population, Australia is home to 20% of the world's slot machines. Australia's $25 billion a year in gambling losses represent the highest per capita gambling losses in the world.

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d8EJ9 TIL that several of the peoples of the eastern New Guinea Highlands have developed an "avoidance language", used when collecting pandanus nuts in order to not use words that are thought of as being "unhealthy" for the plants.
5Ypjp TIL that Mr. Rogers always mentioned out loud that he was feeding his fish because a young blind viewer had written to him to do so because she would get worried about them.
VMk1B TIL all the "ancient" crystal skulls of Central America were actually created in Europe during the 19th century. The Brazilian quartz deposit the skulls are made of was unknown during ancient times and likely crafted in a 19th century German workshop renowned for crafting objects of Brazilian quartz
7rAEX TIL an 18yo was arrested for reporting a bug in the new Budapest e-Ticket system
6E7kY TIL Henry Ford bought an area of Brazilian rainforest the size of Connecticut to build 'Fordlandia', the greatest rubber plantation known to man, where alcohol, women and football were banned. It produced almost no rubber, immediately descended into rioting and disease, and was abandoned