› added 2 years ago

78

TIL that Saint Nicholas’ reputation as a secret gift-giver originates from him discreetly funding three poor girls’ dowries so that they wouldn’t be forced into prostitution.

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l70Va TIL the diabetes drug exenatide was isolated from the venom of the only venomous lizard native to the US, the Gila monster
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MLya TIL that the dispute over whether Newton or Leibniz invented calculus was decided by the Royal Society. Newton, as the President, appointed an impartial committee to decide the issue, which concluded in its official report that Newton was the inventor. Newton was the anonymous author of the report.
QJ5Pk TIL that since 1990 New Zealand has had an official Wizard who gets paid ten grand a year to do wizard things around the country. Since 2014 he’s had an apprentice. He is currently 87 years old.
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