Post * xoww — Curious Curator

› added 13 years ago

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TIL the “X” in “Xmas” isn’t a way to avoid mentioning Christ. “X” represents Chi (χ), the first Greek letter of Χριστός (“Christ”). “Christ” has been abbreviated “X” in English for centuries, as it was in Greek.

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16ZWD TIL Walmart pulled an educational toy after a bilingual grandmother recognized the item was using Polish profanity as well as singing in Polish about suicide, depression, drug abuse, and cocaine.

P1e5V TIL that mead (or honey wine) has different names when blended with different ingredients. When fermented with grape juice, it is called "pyment," with apple juice "cyser," with other fruits "melomel," with herbs or spices "metheglin," and with hops, grains, or malts "braggot"

KOO8E TIL that the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season has been one of the most hyperactive and damaging in the satellite era.

6Emg8 TIL the company that developed the first all-wheel drive vehicles was named "Four Wheel Drive", and after their invention the company's name "Four Wheel Drive" became synonymous with all-wheel drive vehicles from any manufacturer.

ANrMx TIL October 8, 1871, there was a wildfire in Wisconsin called the Peshtigo fire. The Peshtigo fire is the deadliest wildfire in recorded history, but news about it was overshadowed at the time by another fire happening elsewhere on the same day—the Great Chicago Fire.