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Today is a brand new day and before it turns into yet another small and insignificant spot somewhere in a 365-day bender, there’s time to make it worthwhile. So today, we baked you a special treat of a list that features some of the most entertaining facts you probably didn’t know.

Thanks to our dear friends and the powerhouse of Reddit, “Today I Learned,” we have quite a read to scroll through right below. The group’s whopping 26.2 million members prove that too many of us love that sense of discovery, no matter how big or small it be. And often all it takes is one specific fact to pump up your trivia muscle!

After you're done, be sure to check out our previous TIL posts here, here and here.

This post may include affiliate links.

#1

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL 110 years ago Dr Charles Campbell constructed 30 feet high bat roost to fight malaria. Bats that lived in the roost ate the mosquitoes and Mitchell's lake municipality was malaria-free in 4 years.

ketanpande , Larry D. Moore Report

Final score:
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#2

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL that the first child protective services organization in the world was created after the founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals realized laws protecting animals from abuse were stronger than laws protecting children

Stock_Trading_Pro , Anna Shvets Report

Final score:
414points
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Ren Karlej
Ren Karlej
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

First child cruelty case in the UK was prosecuted under animal welfare legislation.

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#3

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL Mexico was the only country to protest the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany. To honor that support, there is a square in Vienna named "Mexikoplatz"

iSleepUpsideDown , Bwag Report

Final score:
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#4

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL about a man who shot a protected saguaro cactus down with his shotgun in 1982. The cactus fell on him, crushing and impaling him to death.

Pups_the_Jew , Sullynyflhi Report

Final score:
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#5

TIL that in 2013, Star Wars was dubbed into Navajo, making it the first major motion picture translated into a Native American language

2 days ago Report

Final score:
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Devil's Advocate
Devil's Advocate
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Depressing it took so long! We need to keep older languages alive. Moana was released in Tokelauan, and there are songs that were never translated into English to encourage natives to keep their language alive.

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#6

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL that the song "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" by the artist Skrillex was observed as a mosquito repellent due to its low-frequency vibrations. The scientists also found that mosquitoes exposed to the song had sex "far less often" than other mosquitos without music.

30phil1 , Weekly Dig Report

Final score:
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#7

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL The British army breaks step when crossing bridges. This is because in 1831 a suspension bridge collapsed from all the soldiers marching in unison.

OntarioIsPain , Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files Report

Final score:
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NsG
NsG
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Look up what happened with the Millennium Bridge. Pedestrians hit the resonant frequency of the bridge by accident, but then the effect was multiplied when people started correcting their steps to keep their balance.

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#8

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL that the FTC actually recommends against organizations using regular password changing policies as it only encourages users to use simple, easy to remember passwords that they then only alter in predictable ways.

Gullible_Skeptic , Tima Miroshnichenko Report

Final score:
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Something
Something
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Alternatively, it causes users to come up with passwords so secure that even they can't access their accounts.

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#9

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL that in China 209 BC two generals were going to be late which was punishable by death. They realized that the punish for rebellion was the same as the one for being late, so they decided to rebel and created an uprising.

maicii Report

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Richard Liu
Richard Liu
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They're not general but just low level officer. Their names are Chen Sheng & Wu Guang (surname first). Their revolt was suppressed in just 6 months.

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#10

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL that Enya lives in a castle in Ireland, and when Bo Burnham wanted to include Orinoco Flow in his film, he had to send her a hand written letter

cugzkani , Sardaka Report

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#11

TIL of Lady Lucy Houston, a British philanthropist who, after WWI, recognized the need for a strong Air Force... when the British government refused, she funded development of what became the Spitfire. She passed before WWII, and never saw how much that investment paid off.

jrrybock Report

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Caro Caro
Caro Caro
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is interesting. What a great woman. http://www.warfaremagazine.co.uk/articles/Lady-Lucy-Houston-The-Unsung-Heroine/224

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#12

TIL that a guy drove 3.25 million miles with his Volvo that he bought in 1966 until his death in 2018

fella-from-chernobyl Report

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#13

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL, While alcohol made from apples is called cider, alcohol made from pears is called "Perry"

APleasantMemory , Bicanski Report

Final score:
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Scagsy
Scagsy
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It goes down like water as well and is usually quite strong. Perfect for a hot summers day but watch yourself on it.

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#14

TIL: President Nixon, wife Pat, and Henry Kissinger took lessons and practiced for months to learn to use chopsticks properly, in preparation for the dinner banquet on his visit to China in 1972

simp-for-china Report

Final score:
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#15

TIL that Filipino churches built during Spain's colonial period used millions of egg whites in the concrete to make it more durable. This is also why Filipino desserts often use lots of egg yolks- many were developed to use up all the extra yolks from construction projects

camwynya Report

Final score:
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Laugh or not
Laugh or not
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

On the other hand, monasteries used a lot of egg yolk for their manuscripts and had to create recipes with the white, which is why we have meringue, macarons, and other sweets with a lot of egg whites.

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#16

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL James Blunt(singer) developed scurvy in university when he ate only meat for two months 'out of principle' to annoy vegetarian classmates

saeijou , Dani Dapena Report

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Ren Karlej
Ren Karlej
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He added orange juice to his diet to try to combat it and got acid reflux. Balance in diet is important!!!

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#17

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL the sex of alligator hatchlings is based purely on temperature while incubating. At 86F or lower, the babies will all be female; at 93F or higher, they will all be male. The mother can sense these changes in temperature and will alter the nest to maintain an optimum temperature.

TululaDaydream , Roger Smith Report

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#18

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL The Vatican has its own telescope staffed by priests, and has previously been given awards for the pursuit of scientific research.

_Mr_Washee_Washee , H. Raab Report

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Romenriel
Romenriel
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Several catholic orders consider pursue of academic knowledge and research to be one of their

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#19

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL that in 1939 an experiment was conducted at the University of Iowa on orphans in which the purpose was to induce stuttering in otherwise normally speaking children. Dubbed the "monster study", it caused lifelong psychological issues in some of the subjects.

Tufflaw Report

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#20

TIL David Lucas, a producer of the 1976 rock hit "Don't Fear The Reaper", really did want more cowbell, while band members felt he was crazy. In a 2005 interview, the bassist recalled that the cowbell "really pulled the track together".

AnthillOmbudsman Report

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#21

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL of garden hermits, people encouraged to dress as druids and live in caves and grottoes on the estates of rich people effectively as decoration in the 18th century, usually receiving room and board as payment. One such hermit was fired three weeks into a seven year term after being found drinking at a local pub.

a3poify , Johann Baptist Theobald Schmitt Report

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Romenriel
Romenriel
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Druid" is not a correct term. Hermite is a type of Christian monk that lives alone in a wilderness, but now that I think of it, they were similar to druids in some aspects, for example, they were believed to be friends with animals and animals would be helping them out.

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#22

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL that Stalin struggled with depression and summoned renowned Russian psychiatrist Vladimir Bekhterev to examine him. After the examination Bekhterev said only one word - "paranoiac". He died on the very next day from what most believed was poisoning.

PrognosticatorMortus , Unknown Report

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Serial pacifist
Serial pacifist
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"I have a feeling people don't like me, it's not like I ban them from speaking their minds and send them to gulags to freeze or work to death if I don't like what they say."

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#23

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL A day on Venus is longer than a year on Venus. It takes Venus longer to rotate once on its axis than to complete one orbit of the Sun. That's 243 Earth days to rotate once, and 225 Earth days to complete one orbit of the Sun.

WildAnimus , NASA Report

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Devil's Advocate
Devil's Advocate
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Pretty sure Mercury is the same. Conversely, a lunar year and a lunar day are identical which is why we always have the same side facing us

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#24

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) Today I learned Charlie Chaplin didn't actually have a mustache, it was a part of his makeup.

ElaborateRuse420 , P.D Jankens Report

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Andy Acceber
Andy Acceber
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unlike Cesar Romero who did have a mustache that Ben Nye attempted to hide under makeup. (Cesar Romero played the Joker in the original TV Batman series.)

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#25

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL there is a full taxidermed whale in a Swedish museum that was open to the public until a couple was caught making love inside it (1930's)

anonymous , Jopparn Report

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Andy Acceber
Andy Acceber
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And they weren't the first -- just the first to get caught. (jk)

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#26

TIL pepperoni is an American invention. It's similar to the spicy salamis of southern Italy, but it also has elements characteristic of German sausages (smokiness, beef content, and fine grind). In Italian, "peperoni" just means "bell peppers".

howmuchbanana Report

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Kari Panda
Kari Panda
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In Germany, 'peperoni' is used for something similar to chili peppers. For years, when I read about 'peperoni pizza' I believed it was just a pizza with a whole lot of chili.

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#27

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL ancient Egyptians would give opium to quiet crying babies. This practice was also a popular way to calm babies in the Victorian era, but it sometimes caused infants to starve to death as they were kept in a constant state of narcotism.

The_Ry_Ry , pxhere Report

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Burs
Burs
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This used to be done in my village too. They would give strong poppy tea to crying babies to calm them down. Good as a painkiller but definetly too dangerous for babies since some would die.

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#28

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL that half of all panda births result in twins, however, it is very rare for both cubs to survive as giant pandas almost always abandon a cub if they give birth to more than one

CaptainI9C3G6 , piqsels Report

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Romenriel
Romenriel
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I saw a Youtube video about this! Chinese scientist were trying to keep alive both babies, so they switched them up in regular intervals. The bear mama only had one baby at her at all times, while the other one was in incubator and nursed by caretakers, and then switch so both babies would get mama love and milk.

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GoddessOdd
GoddessOdd
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I volunteer to work, without pay, to be a panda baby nurse. I will happily care for any cubs not being tended by their mom.

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Robert T
Robert T
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

China owns all pandas and any pandas in zoos around the world are only on loan. I believe this also extends to any baby pandas those pandas may produce.

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Foxxy (The Original)
Foxxy (The Original)
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes that's true. Adelaide Zoo has had two pandas on loan for over 10 years. W**g W**g and Funi. The loan was recently extended, so far breeding attempts have not been successful.

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That_One_Harry_Potter_Nerd
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is sad. If the mothers took care of both panda babies, there would be more pandas

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Martha Meyer
Martha Meyer
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They abandon one because they can't really take care of two babies at once, I think.

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Riley Quinn
Riley Quinn
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Glad to know pandas are no longer endangered, but there are other less cute animals that require this same diligence from humans.

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TheAnimalLady
TheAnimalLady
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

YES!!! We should all consider joining the "Ugly Animal Preservation Society".

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Brian Bennett
Brian Bennett
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Good thing humans don't normally have twin births! Think of all the heartache!

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Dolly Bun
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3 years ago

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Why are we trying so hard to save pandas as a species? They don't give a damn about themselves & are the most nihilistic animals on the planet so far as I can tell.

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Rei
Rei
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3 years ago

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Yeah that's because they choose to eat a plant with almost no nutritional value whatsoever so the mothers barely survive on it themselves, needing to eat the amount of a soccer field of bambus daily to stay alive. Imagine producing milk for two babies then. Pandas just make everything right to go extinct. Kinda like black and white lemmings. Too bad, because they are super cute and adorable.

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TheAnimalLady
TheAnimalLady
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They "choose" what their bodies are made to eat. Do you also blame cats for being Obligate Carnivores? Blame them for not being vegans, even though it'd kill them? BTW, if it wasn't for Pandas China would be a bamboo forest with nowhere to live... Do you realize it can grow a yard a day? That's 40mm an hour!!!

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Rick
Rick
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3 years ago

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This species clearly does not want to live, for whatever reasons. I don’t know why we throw so much money trying to save them. Their restricted diets which is entirely their own self-choosing, along with an aversion to reproducing and abandoning cubs if they eventually manage to produce one…there’s a limit somewhere.

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Adam Jeff
Adam Jeff
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And yet, they survived fine for 2 or 3 million years before humans took over...

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#29

TIL that the opossum and the possum are not the same animal. The opossum lives in North America and the possum lives in Australia and SE Asia. While they are both marsupials, they belong to different orders. An example of a possum would be the sugar glider, which weighs less than 5 ounces.

Squaragus_Asparagus Report

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#30

TIL that in 1457 golf was banned in Scotland by king James II, because he felt that young men were playing too much golf instead of practicing archery. It remained in banned until 1502, when James IV became a golfer.

jcd1974 Report

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Sue Lynn Chan
Sue Lynn Chan
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But...............HEAR ME OUT! What if they use a golf ball made of metals..........so that when the enemies comes, the can swing the golf to the enemies.

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#31

TIL President Nixon ordered the Secret Service guarding the White House to have fancy uniforms similar to what palace guards wear in other countries. Revealed in 1970, almost no one liked the new uniforms, including the US Secret Service agents. The uniforms were sold to an Iowa Marching Band.

Suitable_Penguin Report

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#32

TIL that James Garfield, the 20th president of the United States, developed a new proof for the Pythagorean theorem while discussing math with some members of Congress. His proof was published in a peer reviewed journal

ThisIsNotCorn Report

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DE Ray
DE Ray
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Garfield was also, if I remember correctly, able to write the same sentence in Latin with his right hand and in Greek with his left simultaneously.

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#33

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL According to a 2011 study, SpongeBob is messing with the memory retention of children, impairing their “readiness for learning.” Findings show that allowing preschoolers to watch the series causes short-term disruptions in mental function and attention span due to frequent camera cut scenes.

YTDrawfluent Report

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Kari Panda
Kari Panda
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That’s an interesting info. So what‘s a good alternative for young children? Dora the explorer? Or that puppy show that‘s currently so popular? (A lot of shows targeted at young children are educational in some way, but I have no idea which of these have frequent camera cut scenes. Doesn’t seem like something you can simply google, either.)

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#34

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL the most expensive first class tickets on the Titanic were $4350 (or £870) in 1912 money. That's over $100,000 today.

PixelPervert , Robert John Welch Report

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#35

TIL In 1888 Alfred Nobel (of Nobel Prize fame) was astonished to read his own obituary titled "The merchant of death is dead". Actually it was his brother Ludvig who died but the article disconcerted Nobel about how he would be remembered and inspired him to change his will.

dremonearm Report

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Simon Thomas
Simon Thomas
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He was renowned for inventing dynamite, hence 'merchant of death'

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#36

TIL: According to Dan Aykroyd 80 percent of the dialogue of Ghostbusters was improv. "The rest was just structure and exposition."

IrisMoroc Report

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lara
lara
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I find that "instant" dialogue is better in comedies because the situations bring forth obvious and witty comments that writers cannot "see" at the time they are writing. Robin Williams, and others are brilliant at this.

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#37

TIL drawings of battles between knights and snails appear in the margins of many texts from the 13th and 14th centuries. There is no known explanation for the meaning behind this recurring depiction.

thewolfwasirish Report

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Burs
Burs
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Do you see any giant snails trying to conquer us? No. Obviously the knights won.

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#38

TIL that during Civil War, the North blockaded salt imports and destroyed salt mines in the South to sabotage food preservation. The food shortages resulted in general unrest and contributed to surrender.

SamsonFox Report

Final score:
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Katherine Boag
Katherine Boag
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Pretty standard old-style warfare, why do you think castles in europe stockpiled food and had a well?

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#39

TIL a quantum logic clock at the Univ. of Colorado Boulder is so accurate, it would not lose 1 second in 33 billion years (about 2.5 times the age of the universe)

Sun_Aria Report

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46points
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#40

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIl an english garbage man won the lottery for 10 million pounds (25 mill USD in today's money), lost all of it then 8 years later reapplied for his old job as a garbage man.

cartstanza , TheEastAnglia Report

Final score:
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Rick
Rick
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Before anyone feels sorry for him, he didn’t “lose it” through run of bad luck or decisions, he blew it on a 2K a day coke habit and orgies with prostitutes. He was quite profilic in the news for a while.

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#41

TIL Nokia 1100 phone, originally sold for under $100, reached the price of over $32,000 in 2009 as criminals discovered that it can receive SMS messages for another phone number, thus allowing to intercept sensitive information like one-time passwords for online banking

Uwe_Tuco Report

Final score:
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IlovemydogShilo
IlovemydogShilo
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I just looked this phone up and found one for sale for .£14.90. Looks like the robbers were robbed😁

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#42

TIL that "granny style" is the most efficient throwing technique for free throws in basketball. The only reason no one does it seems to be because the players are afraid of ridicule. There is no rule against it.

dr_tst Report

Final score:
45points
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Devil's Advocate
Devil's Advocate
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yep, makes you look like an idiot, but much more effective and accurate

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#43

TIL that the Beatles’ final concert for a paying audience wasn't sold out, leaving over 15,000 unsold seats, largely because no one realized it would be their last concert appearance.

AspireAgain Report

Final score:
44points
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Katherine Boag
Katherine Boag
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I mean, any performance could be a group's last. I'm always a bit sceptical when groups advertise as their last tour, cause there's nothing to stop them changing their mind later.

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#44

TIL Elizabeth Ann is a black-footed ferret, the first U.S. endangered species to be cloned. The animal was cloned using the frozen cells from Willa, a black-footed female ferret who died in the 1980s and had no living descendants.

SamoBH Report

Final score:
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#45

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL it only takes the average person 10-20 minutes to fall asleep

Brromo , Ivan Oboleninov Report

Final score:
43points
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Chris Jones
Chris Jones
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My partner can fall asleep in minutes. I take hours and get up frequently.

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#46

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL A group of engineering students from Purdue University reported that its licking machine, modeled after a human tongue, took an average of 364 licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.

iWentRogue , Max Braun Report

Final score:
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Scagsy
Scagsy
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There's a study I could have volunteered for if it wasn't for those pesky robots, coming over here and stealing our jobs.

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#47

TIL kamikaze pilots weren't 100% volunteer. Pilots were asked to put their hand up in a big group if they didn't want to volunteer. Amid peer pressure, hardly anyone was able to say no to the mission.

VioletPeacock Report

Final score:
42points
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WilvanderHeijden
WilvanderHeijden
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It was much more than peer pressure. It was their culture of being courageous and not chicken out. They could die with great honor or as a coward without a face, which would also bring shame on their family.

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#48

TIL That the US Army tradition of naming helicopters after Native American Tribes (something that was once an official regulation) dates to 1947 and General Hamilton Howze who felt that helicopters were meant to attack the flank and fade away...in the tradition of the Plains Indian tribes.

GentPc Report

Final score:
41points
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Serial pacifist
Serial pacifist
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Instead of spreading diseases, committing genocide, and pillaging native lands, in the tradition of almost all European armies and their descendants in the past.

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#49

TIL Bruce Springsteen's mother would rent him guitars for $6 a week in 1957. Springsteen bought his first guitar as a teenager in 1964 for $18.95. Later on, his mother would take out a loan to buy him a $60 Kent guitar.

MarineKingPrime_ Report

Final score:
41points
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Victoria Kimball
Victoria Kimball
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had to read this more than once to figure out that she was paying to rent a guitar FOR him.... not that she owned a guitar and was charging HIM rent to use it. 🤣

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#50

TIL that a man bet his friend that he could make any house famous. To accomplish this, he wrote thousands of letters requesting services at 54 Berners Street. So many people showed up on the day that parts of London were shut down. The man (who watched it unfold from across the street) won the bet.

unappliedknowledge Report

Final score:
41points
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#51

TIL that submarines use a generator to extract oxygen from water using electrolysis.

Darylols Report

Final score:
41points
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#52

TIL Anchorage, Alaska, is almost equidistant from New York City, Tokyo, and Frankfurt, Germany (via the polar route), and lies within 10 hours by air of nearly 90% of the industrialized world

iKickdaBass Report

Final score:
41points
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LeighAnne Brown-Pedersen
LeighAnne Brown-Pedersen
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Cargo airplane hub. Strange to be at an airport where cargo planes outnumber passenger planes by a lot!

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#53

TIL that there are actually fireflies all along the west coast of the U.S.; they just prefer to be active during the day.

k_r_i_s Report

Final score:
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#54

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL that Smarties candy was originally made with machines that were built to make gunpowder pellets for ammunition during World War I.

TBTabby , LaurelG Report

Final score:
38points
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Katie Lutesinger
Katie Lutesinger
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And where I come from "Smarties" are sugar coated chocolate treats, pretty much M&Ms without the letters on them. And yet we also have these little sherbet pellets like in the picture, so don't ask me how THAT works!

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#55

TIL in 1967 students at the University of Colorado voted to name their new cafeteria after Colorado’s most well-known cannibal, Alfred Packer.

jalfredproofrock Report

Final score:
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Rose the Cook
Rose the Cook
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Colorado's most well known cannibal", so just how big was the cannibal population there?

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#56

TIL In 2012 as a Valentine’s Day promotion, Pizza Hut offered a $10,010 “proposal package” that included $10 in pizza and breadsticks, limo service, a photographer, fireworks, and a ruby engagement ring.

redmambo_no6 Report

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#57

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL that the two least profitable movies of all time both take place on Mars. Mars Needs Moms, an animated Disney film, lost $143 million, and John Carter, a live action Disney film, lost nearly $127 million.

ahtaylor13 Report

Final score:
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Serial pacifist
Serial pacifist
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have a feeling that movies taking place on Uranus would be major blockbusters.

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#58

TIL: There's a guy who is responsible for maintaining the database of time zones which computers and operating systems use to configure locales. His name is Paul Eggert. And he's a computer scientist based in California.

danielrosehill Report

Final score:
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Steve
Steve
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't suppose he could pause it this weekend, and let me have one more day before going back to work?

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#59

TIL that d'Armond Speers tried to teach his son Klingon language, used by Klingons in Star Trek series, as a first language. The boy answered mostly in English which his mother talked to him in and at the age of 5 stopped answering dad when he was speaking Klingon to him.

zkih Report

Final score:
34points
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Burs
Burs
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That’s probably because mum or somebody else told him to. A toddler cannot distinguish a fictional from a real language.

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#60

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL that humans didn't perform the critically acclaimed high five before the 70's.

BleedingFromMyA-hole , Uriel Mont Report

Final score:
33points
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Maria
Maria
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

According to Wikipedia it was popularised by US sportsmen who adapted it from the low-five used by African-Americans since at least the 1920s.

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#61

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL Spirit Halloween, which is owned by Spencer's, runs over 1200 locations each year for 4-8 weeks. They spend the rest of the year scouting empty locations for the next Halloween season

thenewyorkgod , https://www.flickr.com/people/39160147@N03 Report

Final score:
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#62

TIL that screensavers were originally created to save CRT screens from burning an image into the display due to prolonged, unchanged use.

xxwarlorddarkdoomxx Report

Final score:
28points
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#63

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL Americans Watched Over 57 Billion Minutes Of The Office In 2020

pufballcat Report

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#64

TIL traditional battleships are no longer used by any navy. Most were decommissioned following World War II, but the US maintained 4 that were in and out of service until the 1990s.

mucow Report

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#65

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL in the early 2000's Serena and Venus Williams, along with their father Richard, were regularly accused of "match fixing" when the sisters competed against one another. One incident, where Venus pulled out entirely from a semifinal match against her sister (tendinitis), had fans demanding refunds

pickycheestickeater , Edwin Martinez1 Report

Final score:
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Donkey boi
Donkey boi
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Serena once said in an interview at Wimbledon that she puts more effort into playing her sister than she does into a semi-final at Wimbledon. Having observed my family's competitive nature, I can understand that.

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#66

TIL the 'Fake Shemp' - using one actor to fill in for another - is now prohibited by Screen Actors Guild rules, as a result of a lawsuit filed by Crispin Glover over his replacement in Back to the Future II

Opheltes Report

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Devil's Advocate
Devil's Advocate
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not exactly true, they have terms to follow because if it was banned completely they couldn't use stunt / body doubles, and they couldn't have recast Rhodes in iron Man for Don "why did they do it" Cheadle

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#67

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL Vince Gilligan strongly regretted introducing the machine gun to Breaking Bad's last season and found writing a convincing explanation for it so difficult that he nearly abandoned the plot device out of frustration

SacKingsRS Report

Final score:
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An Co
An Co
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Chemists should use chemical weapons. Poison gas or explosives would have been more in character.

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#68

TIL The 1941 American movie drama 'Citizen Kane' was originally a box office flop. The movie failed to recoup its cost at the box office. Radio City Music Hall's management refused to screen Citizen Kane for its premiere. Today, Citizen Kane is considered the Greatest American Film of All Time.

YTDrawfluent Report

Final score:
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Katie Lutesinger
Katie Lutesinger
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some say it was sabotaged by William Randolph Hearst, who was not pleased that Kane was clearly modelled on him.

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#69

30 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Show It’s Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics) TIL that the destruction of Hiroshima was caused by only half a gram of matter being converted to energy: the weight of a butterfly

gamerdada , George R. Caron Report

Final score:
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Stuart Holder
Stuart Holder
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is 100% false. Around 1 kilo probably underwent fission. Bad no matter what, but lots of material is needed to make an atomic bomb. I know because I got a C in the physics of nuclear weapons class in college

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