› added 11 years ago

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TIL Daylight Savings Time was originally started to conserve energy, but has since become obsolete.

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5PlD TIL the word ‘paparazzi’ is derived from the Italian term for a very large mosquito.
XELwj TIL Of the metronome of Leningrad. During the Nazi siege of the city they installed 1,500 loudspeakers that constantly played the sound of a metronome. A slow rhythm meant safety and a fast rhythm warned of an air attack.
0wkO1 TIL — 7-Eleven is the only place the IRS allows taxpayers to pay their tax liability in cash. Payments are limited to $1,000 per day, cost $3.99 per payment, and only 34 states have participating 7-Eleven locations.
oBLBo TIL while Billy Idol was recovering after a motorcycle accident that stopped him from appearing in Terminator 2, an interviewer commented that his muscle stimulator made him a "Cyberpunk". This led to Idol's album of the same name, supported with a pioneering Internet promo campaign.
YpnQW TIL of "knocker-uppers" a profession with the sole purpose of waking people up in the morning, later to become obsolete by alarm clocks.