› added 12 years ago

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TIL that the Health Minister of South Africa who served for 9 years, actively promoted the treatment of AIDS with garlic, beetroot and African potatoes, while claiming that Anti Retroviral drugs don’t work.

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MRa TIL A psychiatrist in the mid-1900s performed lobotomies with an icepick through the eye socket. Walter Freeman became so efficient he needed only 10 minutes per procedure.
woVy1 TIL that as a writer on Saturday Night Live, Bob Odenkirk invented Chris Farley's motivational speaking character, Matt Foley. ("Living in a Van Down by the River!!")
9Y0wm TIL In 1936 BBC broadcasted television using a mechanical spinning disc transmitter and display with a peak resolution of 240 lines. The mechanical system did not scan the televised scene directly, instead a 17.5 mm film was shot, rapidly developed and then scanned while the film was still wet.
4bd5 TIL the longest certified foot race in the world is the ‘Self-Transcendence 3100’ where runners must do 5649 laps around a single block in Queens New York.
P6YE TIL the tiny island of Nauru became the world’s richest country per capita in the 60s by mining its phosphate reserves. The country blew it on spending & bad investments (e.g.“Leonardo the musical”). It’s now the ~135th richest country, with 40% diabetes rate and a wrecked environment due to mining.