› added 5 months ago

21

TIL that the Roman emperor Vespasian did not in fact issue a tax on urinating in public latrines but instead on the distribution of urine collected from Rome's public urinals

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QNxxk TIL Romani people in Turkey
LQWvr TIL sugar beets were commercially introduced to Europe as an alternative to Indian sugar canes. As Britain blockaded sugar supplies to whole Europe in early 1800s, a different sugar route was required. During that time, Napoleon ordered in 32,000 hectares of sugar beets to be planted in France.
PLkJ TIL that Russell Brand was fired from MTV for dressing up like Osama Bin Laden the day after 9/11.
nWlx9 TIL that there is a narrow boat tunnel over 3 miles long in Britain that takes over an hour to pass through on a small boat
1aMmW TIL McDonald's had an offer to give away free big Mac's, French fries and drinks through scratch cards with every medal that USA wins during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. They lost millions of dollars because USSR and it's allies boycotted the event and USA unexpectedly topped the table.