› added 12 years ago

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TIL that the word “canvas” is derived from the word “cannabis” because canvas used to be made from hemp fiber.

Read more etymonline.com

via reddit.com

p7Jb TIL Mr Snuffleupagus was revealed to the adults on Sesame Street in 1985. The writers wanted children to have confidence that adults would believe them, making children less likely to hide sexual assaults.
N69N TIL a French man named Benoît Lecomte once swam 3,716 miles across the entire Atlantic Ocean, from Massachusetts to France; the feat took him a total of 73 days, 5 of which included him being followed by a great white shark
nJYb TIL that homebrewing beer or wine with an ABV greater than 0.5% was illegal until 1978 when President Jimmy Carter legalized the practice.
rRWeM TIL that the German pharmaceutical company Bayer knowingly sold blood-clotting agents infected with HIV to Asia and Latin America months after withdrawing them from Europe and the US
l7ErB TIL Tanya Tucker was only 13 years old when she recorded Delta Dawn