› added 5 years ago

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TIL that cobalt (as in cobalt blue) is named for the German word for goblin, Kobold. It got the name because cobalt hinders the extraction of silver, and emits toxic fumes when burned, leading to the deaths of several miners. Mine-dwelling goblins were blamed for leaving behind these ‘cursed’ rocks.

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DQxXr TIL: the 1966 song “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield was not written about the Vietnam War. The song was actually written about the protests/riots on L.A.’s Sunset Strip that occurred because the LA County began enforcing a 10 p.m. curfew for anyone under 18.
AW1w TIL in 2007, a man in Allen Park, Michigan built a working guillotine and then used it to behead himself.
n5wb TIL that the Simpsons were doing Butterfinger commercials a year before the show started, and that Milhouse originated in the second commercial.
VV0p TIL that after Netflix threatened to move House of Cards S3 production when Maryland removed millions of dollars of tax benefits for filming, the legislature responded by threatening to use eminent domain to seize the production team’s assets, since they had already received millions in tax benefits
VM8ND TIL Germany 'acquired' an entire Ancient Greek temple, dismantled it, shipped it back to Berlin and re-assembled it there as a museum.