› added 13 years ago

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TIL that sending text messages doesn’t cost cell phone providers any extra money. The text message “piggy backs” on data that the provider always sends.

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a8wk0 TIL that King Louis XV of France maintained secret diplomatic channels to further his personal interests when they were at odds with the interests of France. The group of 32 agents was called Secret du Roi and was involved in a candidacy for the Polish throne, and the American War of Independence.
4kX9b TIL that during the Civil War, Union troops stumbled upon Confederate battle plans at a freshly-abandoned campsite, revealing that the enemies were nearby and vulnerably split. Union Commander McClellan was too cautious to react and Robert E. Lee gathered his scattered troops once he was alerted.
78gRX TIL that, in 2011, researchers at the Mayo Clinic created cats that would give off a green glow under ultraviolet light. The goal was not to fluoresce cats, but to track the progress of gene modification while searching for a treatment for Feline AIDS.
e0nv6 TIL Mussolini drastically altered the area surrounding the Colosseum, leveling hills and removing ruins, including the base of the Colossus of Nero.
8ag58 TIL Kangxi and Qianlong had the longest reigns in China's history, both lasting over 60 years. Under Qianlong, the population grew from 242 million in 1735 to about 300 million in 1799 or about a third of the world's population, and Beijing was the world's biggest city with a million inhabitants