› added 7 years ago

101

TIL the London underground system, once advertised as a cool escape from hot weather, has been slowly heating up due to dissipated heat from trains braking being captured and retained by surrounding clay, a natural insulator.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

nWxmG TIL that the Eastern Roman Empire once sent troops to Ethiopia to support Ethiopia's invasion of Yemen
6ErXJ TIL 1749 out of 1750 species of cacti are native to only The Americas
eN8k TIL Splenda’s sweet taste was discovered when a scientist who was told “test this chemical” misheard it as “taste this chemical”.
GYAPg TIL about a book about 'Vienna without jews' written in 1922. A mere 16 years later, jews were hunted down under Hitler's command
lYK5 TIL that Russia is suspected to have at least 15 secret cities. These “closed cities” are officially classified by the gov’t, with their names and location unknown, they appear on no maps, no road signs will direct you to them, and visits from foreigners are strictly prohibited.