› added 3 weeks ago

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TIL the saying "Drink the Kool-Aid" comes from a cult mass-suicide of 900 in Guyana in 1978 where the cultists drank it laced with cyanide. I also learned the drink was NOT Kool-Aid. It was actually poisoned Flavor Aid.

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via reddit.com

0wQvM TIL that the superstitious tradition of knocking on wood for good luck is believed to have been conceived by ancient Indo-European people who believed that spirits (both good and bad) lived within the trees. By knocking on a tree one was asking for a blessing from the spirit which lived within.
x6o9w TIL that 80 percent of the men born in the Soviet Union in 1923 did not survive World War II
pYA44 TIL about the tapetum lucidum of Arctic reindeer eyes, which changes color from gold in summer to blue in winter to improve their vision during times of continuous darkness, and perhaps enable them to better spot predators. They can also see within the ultraviolet range.
b9nPQ TIL the rent in the most desired area Tokyo is 1/6 the average rent of San Francisco. Even though Tokyo is much more densely populated.
KOnLB TIL Deaf people often 'think' in sign language. They have never 'heard' words so don't develop an internal monologue like others do.