Hong Kong 1984 agreement New Territories lease

Britain agreed to hand over all of Hong Kong

Hong Kong Island and Kowloon had been ceded to Britain with no end date, while the New Territories were leased for 99 years, until 1997. Yet a 1984 agreement provided for the whole colony to become a special administrative region of China.

Plants react to damage without consciously feeling pain

Plants can detect injury and react to it. But they do not have a brain, nerves, or pain receptors like animals do. Their response to damage is therefore not evidence that they consciously feel pain.

Medieval people drank water despite the popular myth

A common story claims that people in the Middle Ages avoided water because it was always unsafe. Historical evidence shows otherwise: people regularly drank water and often judged its quality by its source, appearance, smell and taste. Beer and wine were also common, but they did not replace water as an everyday drink.

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Hong Kong 1984 agreement New Territories lease

Britain agreed to hand over all of Hong Kong

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