› added 12 years ago

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TIL that a crucial section of the Quran may have been mistranslated. According to a scholar of ancient Semitic languages, the 72 virgins that await martyrs in paradise are actually 72 white raisins.

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via reddit.com

0yJN TIL George Washington died when his doctors tried to cure his epiglottitis (i.e. inflamed throat) with blood letting. He lost more than half his blood before they stopped the treatment, and died just hours later.
o67K TIL That ESPN used to broadcast the card game Magic: The Gathering on TV.
xKBo TIL that spalting is a form of wood coloration caused by fungi. It gives hardwoods potentially beautiful patterns and can be used in decorative wood bowls and musical instruments like guitars and ukuleles. A lot of the wood items at art and crafts fairs are significantly spalted.
lPB TIL - In 526 AD there was a world-wide dust cloud that blocked out the sun for a FULL YEAR, resulting in widespread famine and disease. >80% of Scandinavia and parts of China starved to death, 30% of Europe died in epidemics, and empires fell. No one knows the cause.
pYxRQ TIL dioxins continue to contaminate Vietnam’s soil and rivers decades after the war there, with severe health consequences like birth defects.