› added 1 year ago

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TIL: Citizens of 13th century Freiburg didn't like that the Count of Freiburg increasing taxes and limiting their freedom of trade, so they destroyed his castle with catapults.

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d8l8 TIL Rep. Joe Barton (R–Texas) is against wind energy because “wind is God’s way of balancing heat,” and fears that wind turbines will slow down the wind thus heating up the earth. He also claims wind is a “finite resource.”
Egpex TIL the term "mentor" is derived from the character Mentor from The Odyssey. He was a friend of Odysseus and watched over his son, Telemachus, while he was gone.
7r4DL TIL about Blackstone's ratio, the idea that, "It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer." Blackstone's principle influenced the nineteenth-century development of "beyond a reasonable doubt" as the burden of proof in criminal law.
xVVVB TIL that studies showed that economic insecurity causes people to experience a lack of control, which activates psychological processes associated with anxiety and fear. This causes people to be more vulnerable to feeling physical pain, and makes them more likely to rely on painkillers.
BPob TIL In the six years after the The Biggest Loser, all but one contestant gained back most of their lost weight, despite continuing to diet and exercise.