› added 12 years ago

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TIL Japan has a serious problem with young men becoming extreme shut-ins called hikikomori who will sometimes go years at a time without leaving their rooms.

Read more nytimes.com

via reddit.com

wLyY1 TIL: Mistletoe, commonly seen during Christmas with people kissing under it, is a parasitic plant that kills trees and produces poisonous berries.
BDvd TIL unmarried Iranian people who have sex or even date and hold hands can be arrested, fined, or flogged. Sigheh or temporary marriage is a loophole to this. People can marry for a few minutes or as long as 99 years.
R78e1 TIL that for Japanese traffic lights blue means go! A very blue shade of green is used, green enough to satisfy international regulations. This is because historically the Japanese language only had words for black, white, red, and blue, and that green is considered a shade of blue.
0wJAN TIL The Honas Wagner card; the most expensive baseball card in the world is so rare because it was sold by the 'American Tobacco Company'. Wagner was a non smoker and he threatened to seek legal action against ATC so they stopped producing it.
R4ej TIL of ‘Ama’ - female divers of Japan who would traditionally freedive in cold water for hours in just a loincloth (now wetsuits)