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TIL that Alberta, Canada is a nearly rat-free province, and when a homeowner finds one it makes the news

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mm7y TIL that Yubitsume is the Yakuza ritual of chopping off part of one’s pinky as either punishment or an apology. Reason: Amputation of the little finger makes a proper grip on a samurai sword impossible, weakening him in battle and forcing the person to be more reliant on his boss for protection.
VZJp TIL The song “I Want It That Way” by The Backstreet Boys, which went #1 in 25 countries, has lyrics that don’t make sense because Max Martin, who wrote the song, was still learning English at the time. Kevin Richardson, member of the band, said “Ultimately, the song doesn’t really make much sense.”
MeKx8 TIL that the fruit, orange, was named before the color, which was commonly referred to as “yellow-red.” Hence why people with orange hair are called “redheads” and not “orangeheads.”
N5R1 TIL that a black police officer faced charges for not investigating racial taunts against himself.
16l68 TIL that Connecticut-born Ann Petry was the first African-American woman to sell over 1 million copies of a book with her 1946 novel The Street.