› added 9 years ago

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TIL a study in Australia found that using roundabouts instead of stop signs/signals resulted in a 75 percent reduction in injury collisions, a 90 percent reduction in fatality collisions, and when long term costs were considered cost around the same.

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via reddit.com

X0DY8 TIL Before the invention of radar during World War II, incoming enemy warplanes were detected by listening with the aid of "sound locators" that looked more like musical instruments than tools of war.
Yp5BA TIL Stefan Kiszko, a man with learning disabilities, was wrongly convicted of murder. He served 16 years in prison, where he was physically attacked and harassed by other inmates. He died 20 months after his acquittal and release, before he could collect the money owed to him for his suffering.
e0JKg TIL: Asians that have Tetraphobia (fear of the # 4) are 13% more likely to die on the 4th of the month from heart failure.
VMo5k TIL in 1962, Johnny Carson found out his wife had a secret apartment. He broke into the place with a gun and found football player Frank Gifford's framed photos. Getting sad, he drank all night and joked "That guy plays three positions on the field. I could never get Joanne to go for more than two."
nWK8W TIL that the Romans added the letter “Y” in the first century to pronounce Greek loanwords containing the letter upsilon, and originally made an “ew” sound. The Romans called the letter “Greek I,” which is still its name in some Romance languages.