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TIL Christopher Columbus' efforts to obtain support for his voyages were hampered not by belief in a flat Earth but by valid worries that the East Indies were farther than he realized. In fact, Columbus grossly underestimated the Earth's circumference and caused he and his crew's near starvation.

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oRwpo TIL that the 126 years old Mullaperiyar Dam in India, is considered one of the most dangerous dams in the world, threatening the lives of more than 3.5 million people due to its age, design, and seismic location. People are petitioning for its removal due to catastrophic failure risks.
0dWMR TIL: In China for about three years around 1900, a secret martial arts training club tried to overthrow the Chinese government & force out foreigners. Known to the West as "The Boxer Rebellion," the name literally comes from the fact that members fought unarmed using Chinese forms of unarmed combat.
LQ7br TIL that the world’s first traffic lights, installed outside London’s Houses of Parliament in 1868, were gas-lit. They used semaphore arms by day and lamps at night, operated by a policeman. Weeks later they exploded, injuring him. Traffic lights weren’t tried again in Britain for almost 60 years.
Vrbk TIL the “Daisy Girl” political ad for Lyndon B. Johnson only ran once, in 1964, but was considered an important factor in his landslide victory and remains one of the most controversial political ads ever.
m1X8o TIL that the Ugandan constitution was initially concieved in a tavern in Austria