› added 8 years ago

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TIL that the “slipping on a banana peel” trope originated in the late 1800s, when discarded banana peels were considered a serious public hazard

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NepJ TIL Chinese guerrillas during WWII were given bags of flour, mixed with the powdery white high explosive HMX, to bypass Japanese checkpoints. The resulting mixture could safely be cooked into pancakes and eaten. Leftover dough and pastries could still be used as explosives. Code name: “Aunt Jemima.”
rWMy TIL that a typical F1’s steering wheel can have more than 35 buttons, switches, levers and lights
P1JbV TIL that UK libraries offer free digital access to nearly all newspapers, magazines, audiobooks and eBooks.
GkrJ TIL you can be a Hindu Atheist - you can deny the existence of God, yet believe in the spiritual teachings and live a “dharmic” life.
WPpY TIL Marvel sued City of Heros (a superhero based online game) because their users were making heroes based on Marvel characters. It later turned out that Marvel’s own investigators had made many of the characters cited in the lawsuit.