› added 2 months ago

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TIL that Frisian is the closest language to English. It's spoken by about 400,000 people living mostly on the coast of the North Sea, with the highest concentration in the Dutch province of Friesland. Though similar to English, they are not mutually intelligible

WNbB TIL that in the 19th century when Napoleon III invited the King Siam to a dinner, he gave himself Gold Cutlery, his troops Silver & the King of Siam Aluminium. This was no insult but an honour, aluminium was the most valuable metal on the planet. Today, aluminium is $1,800 a ton. Gold is $50 million
pxNe TIL Sweden has instituted a country-wide program where citizens can enroll to receive an SMS when there is a heart attack victim nearby, allowing them to reach them faster than an ambulance and provide CPR. In 40% of the cases, SMSlifesavers arrived before ambulances and started providing CPR.
9wDQG TIL Jon Favreau, creator of The Book of Boba Fett, confirmed to Patton Oswalt that the scene of Fett's hand reaching out of the sand to escape from the Sarlacc pit was cut to match Oswalt's description of it in his improvised filibuster pitch for Star Wars: Episode VII on an episode of Parks & Rec.
j6ONM TIL: Until 2020, the official name of Rhode Island was The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
d84Ar TIL that while not enforceable, the U.S. has a flag code which advises Americans on proper flag usage. Examples include, No marking or changing the flag's colors, It must be lowered at night unless properly lit, a flag may not be used on a float without a pole, and no flag apparel of any sort.