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TIL: that until 1990, British judges would wear a black cap while pronouncing execution sentences, and that it is still used in some ceremonies today

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eee6 TIL two Christian monks smuggled silkworms out of China in bamboo canes. Those silkworms were used to give the Byzantine Empire a trade monopoly in Europe, which became the foundation of their economy for the next 650 years.
vYQK TIL, that Britain is the fattest nation in Europe.
W7LmX TIL The first-ever Ferris wheel was built in Chicago, IL for the 1893 World’s Fair.
86wV TIL NASA intoxicated spiders with different drugs to see if they could still build an effective web. All of the drugs reduced web regularity except for small doses of LSD, which actually increased it.
V9K4 TIL food banks largely prefer cash donations over canned food drives: for every $1 donated, most food banks can order $4-5 worth of food