› added 10 years ago

171

TIL that the ubiquitous voice of NYC subway announcements lives in Maine. Her name is Carolyn Hopkins and she is also the voice of 200 different airports.

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via reddit.com

XewQ TIL German pilots intentionally ruptured their eardrums during WW2 to prevent air pressure issues. The Bajau people of the Pacific rupture their eardrums to facilitate diving and hunting at sea.
1a0kW TIL that, in Texas, the tradition of high school Homecoming includes enormous and flamboyant "mums", an arrangement of ribbons, buttons, charms, and other accouterments; sew into a wearable accessory.
GYBW1 TIL that there's a grocery chain in the UK called Iceland Foods that once pursued legal action against Icelandic companies that use the name Iceland in their names. Iceland Foods was founded in 1970, while the country Iceland was established in 874.
dojZ TIL the Kawaya Kami is a modern Shinto deity, who reigns over toilets. He was thought to be very beautiful, and as such his toilets must be kept clean and nicely decorated. If you don’t keep your toilet clean, he may cause infants to be born ugly and unhappy.
OoJNX TIL that the bird, Turkey (like the country) is Peru (like the country) in the Portuguese language