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TIL the term "meritocracy" was coined by Michael Young in his 1958 dystopian essay "The Rise of the Meritocracy" to demonstrate the social dysfunctions he predicted arising in societies where the elites believe that they are successful entirely on the basis of merit.

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dDeOB TIL Napoleon Bonaparte suffered from severe gastrointestinal issues. Which is why in the portraits he is holding his stomach .
vyyx TIL that because Iceland does not have an Air Force it relies on its allies to provide protection. Currently Canada is providing air protection for Iceland
d8XN9 TIL the first known instance of a railway was not in modern history - written references place it as early as 600BC. The Diolkos, a grooved road paved with hard limestone, was used to roll ships across the land, saving long transport times on goods and assisting in naval campaigns.
ADLdd TIL Source amnesia is the inability to remember where, when or how previously learned information has been acquired, while retaining the factual knowledge. Source amnesia has caused issues in court when people used outside information in their own testimony and musicians accidentally plagiarized.
4BKa TIL a man’s enormous 12-pound facial tumour could have been treated when he was a teenager, but his mother wouldn’t let him get surgery because she was a Jehovah’s Witness.