› added 4 years ago

61

TIL that by transmitting diseases, mosquitoes cause the deaths of more people than any other animal taxon: over 700,000 each year. It has been claimed that almost half of the people who have ever lived have died of mosquito-vectored disease.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

E1gxp TIL soda is dispensed in plastic bags in the Philippines.
Me5pb TIL that in 1838, Poe wrote a novel in which 4 stranded sailors survive for a while off a turtle, but finally kill one of their own, Richard Parker, and eat him. 46 years later, 4 stranded sailors, after surviving for many days off a turtle, eventually kill and eat one of their own, Richard Parker.
e07pn TIL Half of the world's prison population of about nine million is held in the US, China or Russia.
1XnW TIL Billiards tables are sometimes referred to as pool tables because back in the 1800’s men used to pool together bets for horse races. These “pools” were in special rooms called poolrooms where owners placed billiard tables to pass the time.
YpBjr TIL 'Slav Squatting' is a learned behavior attributed to Russian prison culture to avoid sitting on the cold ground.