› added 9 years ago

232

TIL that the UK evicted the entire native population of Chagos Islands at the request of the USA so that they could both use it as a military base.

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9wk8G TIL the idea of grit made famous by Angela Duckworth's research and book on the subject has subsequently been found to be far weaker than she claimed and just a proxy for conscientiousness.
R54na TIL that the Epic Sax Guy is Moldovan
GYZJj TIL Men generate their own little heat islands, kind of like walking space heaters. But since women typically have less muscle mass and evaporate less heat through the pores in their skin, they might feel colder than men in a room with the same air temperature
grAVA TIL: Pier Donia was a farmer turned rebel leader after his wife was killed and his village sacked. He started a guerilla campaign, slaughtering many towns. His main weapon was a great sword. One on display weighed 14.6lbs and is 7 ft long. His sword was featured on "Forged in Fire" season 9.
WZYB TIL the word boycott derived from Charles Boycott, an agent who collected rent from Irish farms on behalf of the British. Farmers demanded rent reductions, Boycott refused and evicted those tenants. Rather than attack Boycott the Irish farmers refused to do business with him at all. Boycotting.