› added 8 years ago

105

TIL the term “loophole” comes from the name given to small windows in castles, where archers shot at attackers without the fear of being hit. At first meaning a small opening in a seemingly impenetrable defense, the term evolved to mean a spot where the law can be exploited without actually broken.

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oB44R TIL Australia has the highest cigarette tax rates in the world, with a 12.5% yearly excise being applied since 2010. This will continue until 2020, when the average packet of cigarettes is projected cost about AU$40 (USD$30). This compares to about $6-8 in the US and the EU.
mxdDv TIL that 9 missing episodes of the 1960s Dr Who series were found in a TV station in Nigeria. They’d been left there in the 60s-70s for foreign syndication. It was the largest haul of classic Who episodes ever recovered in the last three decades.
vDE7 TIL that some Syrian rebels are using the Sturmgwehr 44, an assault rifle produced in Nazi Germany in late WW2 and which can be worth up to $30'000 in the US
1y7X TIL that the Heimlich Maneuver’s inventor is accused of medical fraud and unethical practices–including the invention of the maneuver itself.
Ad8B TIL that the 1800 election for the US President was an exact tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, so the vote went to the House of Representatives. The House voted 35 times, all of them ties, until Jefferson won on the 36th vote.