› added 8 years ago

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TIL of the World Health Organization “Cocaine Project,” which was banned from publication because it concluded that, “occasional cocaine use does not typically lead to severe or even minor physical or social problems,” among other positives

MevJA TIL that the population of the Inishkea Islands (in Ireland) was until recently unaware of Christianity and the English language, worshipping a magical stone regularly “re-clothed” by a priestess. A catholic priest cast the stone into the sea in the 1890s, then a storm left the islands abandoned.
VMmpk TIL in 2015, a flight from the UK to Dubai had to turn around and land after 30 minutes because of a 'poisonous' smell in the plane. The smell was later confirmed to be the "liquid faecal excrement" of a passenger in the toilet, which was so bad it caused a safety hazard.
9Ymbm TIL about Operation Pluto, an operation to lay submarine oil pipelines under the English Channel in support of the Allied invasion of Normandy during WWII. The two pipelines, "Bambi" and "Dumbo", carried 180 million imperial gallons of petrol to the Allied Expeditionary Force in North West Europe.
88vG TIL that Dickens’ secular vision of Christmas resulted in many of the traditions that are employed today, including popularizing the phrase, “Merry Christmas.”
J1rrv TIL Winnie-the-Pooh was originally named "Edward." They renamed the stuffed bear Winnie after meeting a black bear at the London Zoo with the same name. "Pooh" comes from a swan the creator AA Milne and his son encountered that they named Pooh.