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What is the most obscure fact you know?
(lemmy.world)
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this post was submitted on 15 Sep 2025
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The word "America" does not come from Amerigo Vespucci, but is likely an amalgamation of
the Mayan word "Amerristiquiqque" for "land where the wind blows constantly", which is the name of a mountain range in Nicaragua, and the Spanish word "Rica" for rich, like in "Costa Rica" (Rich Coast) as Spanish sailors would ask Carib Amerindians where their gold came from.
The smallpox blankets event where a couple of blankets laced with smallpox were knowingly gifted to Native Americans happened before germ theory existed. The plan was based on miasma theory.