› added 4 years ago

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TIL the word potassium is derived frm 'potash.' This preindustrial way to produce water-soluble possasium was by burning plant matter then soaking the ashes with water in a pot.

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a9Ly TIL that US businesses and individuals so frequently mistake New Mexico as a foreign country or a part of Mexico, that New Mexico Magazine has a regular column documenting such incidents.
5YBNB TIL the wheels of a train are actually called train wheels / rail wheels :o
gMRbb TIL the Swedish reggae-pop band Ace of Base has a secret Nazi past
x6b97 TIL that Bancroft Hall at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis is the world's largest dorm, housing all 4,400 cadets (midshipmen) in a single building. The dorm has nearly 5 miles of hallways.
7bKb TIL that Greek “Zeus” and Latin “Jupiter” stem from the same Proto-Indo-European word for “Sky Father” (Dyeus ph2tēr), from the root verb “to shine” (dyeu)