› added 11 years ago

117

TIL if our hearing was anymore sensitive than what it is now, we would be able to hear the background hiss of air molecules colliding.

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ONaX TIL handshakes were originally meant to confirm you had no weapons in your hands or up your sleeves (hence the shaking motion to jiggle them out)
6E1EX TIL that the word "mafia" originated from the Sicilian word "mafiusu," which can mean swagger, boldness or bravado. Sicily was once an Islamic emirate and one possible root for this word is the Arabic word "mahyāṣ" (مهياص), meaning aggressive boasting or bragging.
kJ9wE TIL Professional poker player Annie Duke graduated from Columbia and has a Ph.D in Psychology from Penn.
PaKg TIL that California has a larger population than all of Canada.
OoXKa TIL that the word pie chart in English is obviously pie chart, in French it's camembert cheese, in Chinese it is pancake, and in Italian it is cake.