› added 10 years ago

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TIL the longest prison escape is 46 years, by Leonard T. Friscoe who was finally turned in by his son.

gM94y TIL Sales of packaged or processed foods are declining. Many Americans are turning away from foods whose ingredients aren’t “fresh” or “natural.” There is a mounting distrust of so-called “Big Food”, the large food companies and legacy brands that millions of consumers have relied on for so long.
Ooa5a TIL that Chinese-run factories in Prato, Italy, the majority of which underpay workers and force them to work in horrific conditions, allow designers to put 'Made in Italy' on their labels, and charge a premium because consumers think they are buying ethically produced goods.
kXAW TIL Christopher Columbus made the natives each bring him a specified amount of gold every three months. Those who didn’t collect enough gold in time had their hands amputated and were left to bleed to death.
9YR4r TIL that the seven-colour rainbow flag is used by many cultures and movements - the native people of the Andes, the city of Cusco (Peru), the Jewish Autonomous Oblast (a Russian region bordering China), the shrine of Indian guru Meher Baba, and the international peace movement
p8Xo4 TIL about the Windows XP wallpaper. The image is called "Bliss" and it's a supposedly unedited image of a hill found on the Los Carneros American Viticultural Area. The photographer, Charles O'Rear, says he took it on his way to visit his girlfriend. Eventually in 2000, he was contacted by Microsoft