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TIL that the Irish Famine of 1740-41, or 'the Year of Slaughter', killed between 13-20% of the population, proportionally more than the later Great Famine.

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GAeeJ TIL using 160 million records, Cambridge researchers found that while much of Europe remained agricultural, British male agricultural workers fell from 64% to 42% between 1600-1740 while in goods production they increased from 28 to 42%. They date the industrial revolution as beginning in the 1600s.
GAwK7 TIL that the 1969 Beach Boys album 20/20 featured creative contributions from four people convicted of murder (three of them following the release of the album)
womnY TIL about The Great Tantra Challenge, a live event in which Sanal Edamaruku, an Indian skeptic, challenged a tantrik to kill him with only magic. After multiple failed attempts, the tantrik claimed Sanal was under the protection of a powerful god, to which Sanal replied that he was an atheist.
v1j9R TIL that Madagascar has faster internet speeds than Canada
QlVM TIL: John Cleese’s father’s surname was Cheese. Cleese grew up 10 miles from Cheddar and his best friend at school was called Barney Butter.