› added 13 years ago

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TIL that Arabic numerals were not invented by Arabs, but by Indian mathematicians

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R7yyw TIL of the White House Peace Vigil a 24-hour a day anti-nuclear weapons peace vigil started by William Thomas in 1981. Thomas believed it to be the longest running uninterrupted anti-war protest in U.S. history
EOwX TIL that Beethoven routinely had the same breakfast each morning before he started working on his compositions. It consisted of coffee, which he prepared himself. He determined that there should be sixty beans per cup, and he often counted them out one by one for a precise dose.
Y7jm7 TIL In 1938 the timid Neville Chamberlain signed a treaty allowing Hitler to keep European land after a German invasion. By appeasing Hitler, Chamberlain believed he was preventing war. Historians widely regard this as a bad move. Almost exactly one year later, Hitler invaded Poland.
nWgMd TIL about mummy unwrapping parties. They were social events popular among the Victorian elite, where Egyptian mummies were ceremoniously unwrapped for entertainment.
ZGeR TIL that sweat doesn’t smell bad. A stinky “body odour” is caused when the skin bacteria feed on sweat. Their waste products are what smell bad!