› added 4 years ago

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TIL that the world’s longest marathon took about 54 years. Heat stopped Shiso Kanakuri during the 1967 Olympics. Ashamed, he went back to Japan without alerting authorities. Sweden then put him on a missing persons list for over half a century before he was found and given the chance to finish.

yQvNp TIL that the character of Lois Lane was based on pioneering investigative journalist Nellie Bly, known for her undercover exposé as an inmate of a mental institution in 1887. She also reported on Europe's Eastern Front during World War I and took a trip around the world in a record-breaking 72 days.
QNyMa TIL that in the world's first novel, the 11th-century Japanese "Tale of Genji", none of the characters are given explicit names. It was considered rude to call people by name, so the characters are referred to using (for example) their jobs or clothing color, which change throughout the story.
epAvk TIL space stations smell like “combinations of antiseptic, garbage, and body odor.”
D1LRJ TIL there is 3G cell service and internet capability at the peak of Mt. Everest, while only 9% of the Nepalese population has access to the internet
lOvN TIL that NFL legend Walter Payton originally didn’t want to play high school football, because his brother played and he didn’t want to compete with him. He only agreed to try out after receiving assurances that he wouldn’t have to quit the marching band, where he was an accomplished drummer