› added 10 years ago

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TIL that medieval peasants received more vacation time than the average American. Their workdays also included time for leisurely meals and an afternoon nap.

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WbZY TIL that the US government gave VW $51 million in subsidies for “clean Diesels”.
8ajga TIL a man once tried to sue New York City for "two undecillion dollars" after being bitten by a dog, having a couple photograph him while being treated for the injury, and being overcharged coffee at the airport
QNanM TIL philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre heavily used amphetamines, mixed with coffee & tobacco, to boost productivity. This led to intense writing spurts (e.g., a 400-page book in a month) but severely damaged his health.
awVBN TIL Charles Darwin was a member of The Glutton Club at Cambridge which met weekly to eat “birds and beasts, which were before unknown to the human palate”. He also regularly ate some of the animals he discovered in his travels including puma, armadillos, and his famous giant Galapagos tortoises.
9mRp TIL of the “Demon Duck of Doom,” an extinct flightless bird that lived in what is now Australia. It stood over 8 ft tall, and had a skull larger than that of some horses. Despite the nickname, it was more closely related to the chicken.