› added 10 years ago

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TIL that rats in New York City carry numerous diseases, in a sample of 133 rats, scientists discovered 18 different viruses known to infect humans. In fact, scientists even discovered some viruses that were previously unknown to have existed.

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9YrwX TIL Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't allowed to dub his own role in Terminator in German, as his accent is considered very rural by German/Austrian standards and it would be too ridiculous to have a death machine from the future come back in time and sound like a hillbilly.
jNrnX TIL that the Collyer brothers, Homer and Langley, filled their house with over 100 tons of random objects. Langley constructed a maze of tunnels, complete with deadly booby traps, to protect his brother, who never left his room. Langley was killed by his own traps, and Homer starved to death.
LkQvp TIL in 2010, a Florida jail forced some inmates to watch The Polar Express on repeat. One inmate filed a lawsuit claiming that "I hear those little kids screaming through my brain,"
mwwO TIL diamonds aren’t rare; their demand is a marketing invention. In 1938 De Beers hired an ad agency who arbitrarily decided that a diamond engagement ring is worth 1 month’s salary. It worked so well they increased it to 2 months’ salary. De Beers carefully restricts supply to keep the prices high.
yVJ0w TIL: Wife selling was a practice in England for almost 2 centuries with last incident being in 1913 where one was sold to a coworker for £1. It ended unhappy marriages as divorces were expensive. Eventually there were public auctions that the wife had to agree to. You can even buy back your wife.