› added 5 months ago

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TIL of the "Tiffany Problem", where a historical or realistic fact is deemed anachronistic or unrealistic due to modern associations. Named after the name Tiffany, which is often considered a modern name but has medieval origins.

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8aeDZ TIL two hair salons in the UK have started to include a "quiet chair" for people who don't want to engage in small talk while getting their hair cut.
NXeyJ TIL that words which take on completely different meanings when their first letter is capitalised (eg. Turkey the country vs turkey the bird) are called capitonyms
5Y6EB TIL that the swiss have enough bunkers to house the entire countries population fake houses with artillery in them, and bridges that are rigged to blow.
WkdQN TIL George Washington quarantined his troops during a smallpox outbreak, and several of his retreats can be attributed to his desire to avoid smallpox
aw1Zy TIL: There's a tiny chunk of Russia located two countries west of Russia. Like East Germany, it's land the Red Army conquered in the last year of WWII. Unlike East Germany, the Russians are still in control of the ex-Prussian/ex-German area of Königsberg --called since WWII the Kaliningrad Oblast.