› added 10 years ago

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TIL Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd president of the US, was the first president to have electricity in the White House but he never touched any light switches because he was too scared of getting electrocuted.

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WkVpd TIL Rollercoasters can cure kidney stones by "literally rattling the stone loose."
QNEoX TIL that Sark is one of the few remaining places in the world where cars are banned from roads and only tractors and horse-drawn vehicles are allowed, and that in 2011, Sark was designated as the first Dark Sky Island in the world.
xo50 TIL Bubble Wrap was originally designed to be used as wallpaper
QNQ0d TIL of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, which states that all goods transferred between US Ports must be US-Built, Flying the US Flag as well as owned and operated by US Citizens.
BrPAy TIL that in 1582, the English merchant fleet had a total carrying capacity of 68,000 tons and required about 16,000 sailors (The container ship OOCL Hong Kong, christened in 2017, can carry some 200,000 tons while requiring a crew of only 22).