› added 1 year ago

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TIL that Webster's Third, basis of the current Merriam-Webster Dictionary, was widely criticized when published in 1961 for condoning the use of "ain't" among other permissive changes

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9GdM TIL that 40% of the genetic information found in our GI Tract doesn’t fit anything ever classified before. Biologists call it “Biological Dark Matter”.
YOkW TIL that Ulysses S. Grant’s parents did not attend his wedding because his fiancé’s family owned slaves.
jNM6Q TIL that France’s former African colonies are still required to keep their financial reserves in a French bank earning 0.75% interest. Some call this a continuing colonial tax on the former colonies.
6Lom TIL of “Methuselah Trusts,” trust funds designed to accumulate massive wealth over hundreds of years through the power of compound interest. One such trust, set up for Hartwick College in 1936, was so massive, it was feared it “could ultimately shatter the nation’s financial structure.”
Z8LvG TIL shortly after its launch the Telstar I communications satellite showed the power of instant communication - a satellite broadcast of the US president claiming that the USA wouldn't devalue the dollar immediately led to the currency strengthening on global markets.