› added 6 days ago

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TIL that Japanese people custom of saying "moshi moshi" when answering the phone is somewhat rooted from historical belief that ghosts and spirits couldn’t say the word properly.

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5YLoR TIL In the '80s, the drinking age was raised from 18 to 21 nationally because Reagan passed a bill in 1984 that required states to raise their drinking age to 21. They don't have to make it 21 per se, but if they chose to opt-out, they would simply be ineligible for federal highway funding.
4X495 TIL The "X" in "Xmas" is an ancient symbol/initial for Christ, not a political/corporate attempt to "remove Christ from Christmas".
NX4BN TIL that the average lifespan of zebras in the wild is 25 years.
b9Y67 TIL in a Johns Hopkins Survey, 90 percent of doctors said they'd rather die by cardiac arrest than be resuscitated. Only a quarter of the public feels the same way.
W9G4 TIL in 1988 Philly gangster Jackie DiNorscio, in the longest criminal trial in U.S. history, fired his lawyer, defended himself and through charm, wit and no legal experience, convinced a jury to acquit him and 19 other defendants of charges of loansharking, extortion, trafficking, arson and murder