› added 6 years ago

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TIL During Prohibition, moonshiners would wear "cow shoes." The fancy footwear left hoofprints instead of human shoe prints, helping distillers and smugglers evade police.

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epmGk TIL that in competitive chess, if you want to adjust a piece that has been knocked over or jostled away from the center of its square, you use the French terms "J'adoube", which also means "I nominate (to a position)" and "I bestow knighthood upon (someone)".
9KEm TIL the Middle East used to be covered in vast forests, but was deforested for building projects causing erosion that turned much of the area into desert.
WpDA TIL dogs and elephants are the only animals that seem to instinctively understand pointing
dNK7 TIL scientists can reconstruct films from your brain activity, e.g. they could make a video clip of your dreams.
1a8nV TIL that Niue is a member of some UN specialised agencies (such as UNESCO, and the WHO), and is invited, alongside the other non-UN member state, the Cook Islands, to attend United Nations conferences open to "all states".