› added 4 years ago

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TIL after conquering China, by 1241 the Mongols were expanding their empire to the west, using Chinese rockets (self-propelled flying bombs) in battles across Eastern Europe. And with them came secret of black powder - the recipe was first written down around 1250 by English scholar Roger Bacon.

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XLVQ TIL that the stunt doubles for Zach Braff and Sarah Chalke’s bungee-jumping scene met on the day it was filmed. They’re now married.
ADX77 TIL that the New Zealand national badminton team used to call themselves the black cocks as a play on the all blacks, yes, really
KYOd6 TIL if all the trenches built along the western front in WW1 were laid end-to-end they would total over 25,000 miles long; enough to encircle the earth at the equator (24,901 miles)
Z8Pga TIL the train schedule in Tokyo is so reliable that if they run more than 5 minutes late, they issue a note to passengers to prove to their employers that it was the train's fault they were late to work
dkWr TIL workers bear 70 percent of the corporate tax burden.