› added 5 years ago

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TIL: James Milne Wilson was born and died on February 29

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via reddit.com

9Y486 TIL when Chinese warlord Zhang Zongchang saw his first basketball game, he asked, “Why the hell are they fighting over a single ball? We’re the hosts. Are we seriously this poor?” He ordered every player be given a basketball.
9YAKQ TIL about Rai Stones, large donut-shaped stones weighing up to 4 tons which were used as currency on the island of Yap. Because it is hard to move the stones, buying something simply involves agreeing the stone changes ownership and 'recording' it in oral history.
yWva TIL in 1888 a pigeon-fancier and a beekeeper challenged each others creatures to a 3.5 mile organized race in Germany. The bee won by 25 seconds.
pYaWp TIL that in the height of the 1930s depression, gangster Al Capone ran a soup kitchen in Chicago, serving coffee, donuts, and second helpings, “no questions asked.”
NAM1 TIL to understand diabetes, a lock and key analogy is useful. To provide energy to cells, insulin (the key) unlocks cells to let sugars in. Type-A is the pancreas producing too few keys, so insulin is injected. Type-B means rusty keyholes, which can be fixed with exercise, weight loss, or medicine.