› added 10 years ago

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TIL Europe was called the “Far West” in the Far East

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QJlWk TIL even though Benjamin Franklin is credited with many popular inventions, he never patented or copyrighted any of them. He believed that they should be given freely and that claiming ownership would only cause trouble and “sour one’s Temper and disturb one’s Quiet.”
x6r9w TIL that the concept of cognitive dissonance explains why some followers double down when their leader fails - admitting they were wrong is too painful. Psychologist Leon Festinger coined the term after infiltrating a 1954 UFO cult whose members became more devoted when their prophecy failed
E1nkp TIL of a phenomenon where during TV commercial breaks, a large majority of Britain will decide to do things that drain electricity, such as the kettle, at the same time, thus causing 200-400MW demand on the grid
Bgwak TIL that the origin of Halloween lies in in Celtic culture. It can be traced back 1000s of years to a cross-quarter day in the Celtic calendar that is halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. So when Irish people emigrated to North America, they took their tradition with them.
rRrA4 TIL That the standard High Jump Technique was created by one Person, which was considered weird at that time