› added 9 years ago

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TIL that the reason so many south and central Asian countries end in “stan” is because it’s an ancient word for “land of” or “homeland”

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nWV9W TIL of 'Soul of the Earth' by Rafael Trénor--an earth sized sculpture forming the concept of a cube within the earth with the 8 corners poking out on/near land, will be the largest sculpture on earth when the final vertex is finished in Spain.
mBRM TIL that between 2180 and 2160 BC a tunnel was built under the Euphrates River to connect the two halves of Babylon. It was the biggest underwater tunnel until one was built beneath the Thames in 1824.
N61M TIL although Armand Hammer was part-owner of Arm & Hammer, the company was not named after him and had been operating under that name for 31 years prior to his birth.
gvND TIL Bolivians, who have been living off of quinoa for centuries, can no longer afford the grain due to its recent explosion in popularity.
xa5k TIL some U.S. bars and restaurants have been misleading patrons by replacing their standard 16-ounce pint glasses with nearly identical looking 14-ounce glasses