› added 11 years ago

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TIL that Ottoman Sultan Murad IV banned coffee, tobacco & alcohol, making consumption a capital offence. He would patrol the streets himself, personally killing offenders. Murad was a habitual drinker himself & died of cirrhosis.

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b6Y64 TIL of the 1908 Tunguska explosion in Siberia, which experts believe was an asteroid that ripped apart 800 square miles of forest
DQKoP TIL: That upon its UK release in March 1974, The Exorcist drew nationwide protests around Britain from the Nationwide Festival of Light (NFL), a Christian public action group. Local clergy and concerned citizens handed out leaflets offering spiritual support afterwards to those queuing for the film.
WOwY TIL the most dangerous category of the Guinness Book of Records is the Banzai Skydive - a diver throws his parachute at 10,000 ft and attempts to secure it.
j6NZn TIL that there was a Confederate general named "States Rights Gist." He was one of 14 Confederate Generals to become casualties on a single day in a single battle - the Battle of Franklin, November 30, 1864 (6 killed, 7 wounded, 1 captured).
Xp48 TIL that the male brain is on average 9% larger than a female brain, even after correcting for body size.