› added 3 months ago

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TIL Europeans used to think tomatoes were poisonous because the acid in the tomato caused their pewter plates to leak lead into their food

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oRjjW TIL that Henry IV (1367-1413) was the first English King to speak English as his native language following the Norman Conquest of 1066
6edJ TIL that platform shoes have been around since the 15th century, and were called Chopines. Some exceeded 20 inches, and the wearer typically required a servant to help balance.
rN484 TIL that in 1992 video game magazine, EGM, published an article that, as an April fools joke, alluded to the presence of a hidden character in Street Fighter named Sheng Long. This joke took off and so many people bought into it they eventually actually did add a Sheng Long character to the series
ZpJb4 TIL about 60% of male players on PC/console games choose to play as a female avatar.
nLnW TIL in 2008 a dog tried to save his owners lives after 5 armed pirates hijacked their yacht off the coast of Venezuela. After the men climbed aboard the dog furiously attacked them, biting and snapping until he was stabbed then shot. The dog survived and the pirates left almost empty handed.