› added 2 weeks ago

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TIL that Austria, Sweden, Finland, Ireland, and Switzerland were technically "third world countries", because they were not officially aligned with NATO (first world) or the Warsaw Pact (second world) during the Cold War. The term does not actually have anything to do with quality of life.

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Zkaa TIL that new coins for 2016 in UK are to feature Shakespeare and Beatrix Potter
p8W4Z TIL a gentleman in the 1940s observed that the burr seeds that stuck to his clothes and his dog’s fur had a tiny hook structure. On closer inspection, he discovered the hooks were more reliable than a zipper. He developed a company popularly known today as Velcro.
NG6M TIL on June 29, 1995, a department store in Seoul, Korea collapsed, killing 500 people. During construction, the owner insisted on adding an unauthorized 6th floor with a swimming pool. When his engineers protested, they were fired.
neOJr TIL that people in the Philippines say "Tao po" when knocking on someone's door. It translates to "I am a human being". It comes from the belief that evil entities cannot do human speech. "Tao po, hindi aswang" is the original phrase, meaning "I am a human, not a flesh eating monster"
YpOQZ TIL that, at the time of his death aged 97 years and 4 days, Harland Fairweather was the oldest person ever with a living parent. His mother Violent Brown died almost five months later at age 117.