› added 1 year ago

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TIL: About João de Sá, a 15th century African slave who eventually became a court jester in Portugal and then a gentleman courtier. He was frequently mocked by other courtiers for his skin color, but he had the unique privilege of being the only one who can mock nobility without consequences.

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E1Vgo TIL that during World War 2, 18 American shipyards produced 2,710 Liberty ships (a type of cargo ship), a rate of 3 ships every 2 days. Each ship took an average of just 42 days to complete.
v1aAR TIL An $80M brand new shopping complex in Cleveland had to be almost completely abandoned because it was built on a land fill and methane was leaking into Walmart disturbing shoppers and the entire building started sinking. The EPA found methane was so high the parking lot could have exploded
ENNV TIL After 20 years of playing chess casually I’ve just learned that when you promote pawn in Chess, you can always take Queen in exchange, eventually ending up with 9 Queens max on field
50JR TIL that after U.S. President George H. W. Bush vomited and fainted at a state event in Japan, the Japanese term “Bushu-suru,” which literally means “to do the Bush thing,” was coined.
b6M1a TIL that the Jonestown mass suicide in 1978 constituted the greatest single loss of American civilian life in a deliberate act until the incidents of 11 September 2001.