› added 11 years ago

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TIL that in the 1850s, the Xhosa killed all their cattle and burned all their crops because “the spirits told them to”. ~40,000 people starved to death.

Read more eprints.ru.ac.za

via reddit.com

8jxG TIL There is a pharmaceutical treatment for alcoholism that is 75-85% effective. It’s a standard treatment for alcoholism in Finland, but is relatively unknown in North America.
aJ8y TIL that the CEO of Netflix once said that Blockbuster was throwing everything at them, but the kitchen sink. The next day he received a kitchen sink from the CEO of Blockbuster.
kJLam TIL in post-Independence Argentina, turpentine enemas were given to political dissenters as a form of punishment
xGkB TIL that the Rasberry crazy ant produces and covers itself with formic acid, an antidote to fire ant venom. It is the first known example of an insect being able to neutralize another insect’s venom.
YdBW TIL since wi-fi is nearly nonexistent in Cuba, people use the “Offline Internet”, passing hard disk drives around from person to person