› added 7 years ago

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TIL, although many possible reasons have been proposed, some researchers believe the removal of lead from petrol was a key factor initiating a 20 year long fall in crime rates.

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nV1P TIL that the Yankee Doodle lyrics “Stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni” refer not to the pasta, but to Macaroni fashion, a British type of pompous over-dressing.
x6O7b TIL on November 12, 1970, officials with the Oregon Highway Patrol decided to remove an eight-ton beached sperm whale with fifty times more dynamite than a veteran suggested. The resulting explosion blew chunks of whale everywhere, one of which flattened the veteran's brand-new car.
VBBvk TIL That after the ITV kid's show Rainbow was cancelled in 1991, the host Geoffrey Hayes worked as a shelf stacker in Sainsbury's and as a taxi driver. Despite trying to get into serious acting, supposedly directors couldn't disassociate him from Rainbow.
6Y1Z TIL an American Army Air Force officer deserted in Pakistan during WW II, hitched a ride to Italy, stole a P-38 plane, deserted with the plane to the Nazis and became an officer in the SS.
BgMBk TIL that the red lights on top of tall buildings in cities are called “aviation obstruction lighting,” and are used to help pilots of low-flying aircraft avoid collisions with otherwise hard-to-see structures.