› added 11 years ago

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TIL skeptic James Randi has annual Pigasus Awards that seek to expose parapsychological, paranormal or psychic frauds. Noted recipients include Scientology, Jenny McCarthy, Dr. Oz, The Learning Channel and John Edward.

Read more randi.org

via reddit.com

Pe1J TIL The man who took the most memorable photo of the Loch Ness Monster confessed to it being fake on his deathbed.
Rmxl TIL that England, France, and Scotland all used to assess a ‘window tax’. Tax assessors would count the number of windows on a home or apartment and charge for every window on the assumption that the more windows you had, the bigger your home, and the more money you could afford to pay.
gM4DD TIL about ColorADD - A system of symbols designed to help colourblind people distinguish colours
b9Aw4 TIL avocados evolved to be eaten whole by herbivore dinosaurs, who would then poop out the pit to a new location, spreading the trees; after dinosaur extinction, the plant narrowly hung on in a small part of Mesoamerica until humans discovered the fruit and started cultivating them widely
PYvpL TIL the Pharma company Allergan gave a number of their patents to a Native American tribe (and licensed the patents back to themselves) so that the tribe could asset "sovereign immunity" and prevent the patents from being invalidated.