› added 10 years ago

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TIL a Hungarian man was shot in the frontal lobe during World War 1, making it impossible for him to fall asleep. He continued to live a full, sleepless life.

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6EGPm TIL on a trip to China, Prince Philip joked to students that “if you stay here much longer, you’ll go slit-eyed”. After initial concerns of offence, it was revealed that Chinese authorities were unconcerned. They explained that travelling Chinese students were likewise warned not to go “round-eyed”.
0KPM TIL Long Before Trees Overtook the Land, Earth Was Covered by Giant Mushrooms
mxRxY TIL when the US was pressured by China not to sell F-20 fighters to Taiwan, the US allowed General Dynamics to work with Taiwan to jointly develop a comparable fighter, which was later named F-CK-1. (Yes, it's named after the Taiwanese president who initiated the project, but I'm sure r/theyknew!)
Y7J4G TIL The Sun makes a sound but we can't hear it
oR1ZA TIL in the pre-classical era, the ancient Greeks condoned piracy as a viable profession; it apparently was widespread and "regarded as an entirely honourable way of making a living". References are made to its perfectly normal occurrence in many texts including in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey.