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TIL that during the Irish Potato Famine, the poor were hired for useless construction projects called 'famine follies' in order to provide them with work that would not take existing work away from other workers. These included roads in the middle of nowhere, between two seemingly random points.

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nWPPo TIL in a 1990 World Cup Qualifier, with Brazil leading 1-0 over Chile, the Chilean GK purposely cut himself with a razor blade hidden in his glove. He then pretended to be hurt by unruly Brazilian fans. He was soon caught and permanently banned from playing; Chile was also banned from the 1994 WC.
WkYRo TIL that there are 2 ATMs in Antartica and only one of them works at a time. The reason for this is so if the working one breaks down, the other can be cannibalized for parts. A repairman also stops by every 2 years to perform routine maintenance.
5Y0On TIL Helsinki, Finald, gives rough sleepers a stable and permanent home of their own as soon as possible. They can pay rent through state housing benefit and people can even opt to stay for the rest of their lives
xyl5 TIL George R.R. Martin writes all his novels in DOS using the ancient word processing program WordStar
Brymr TIL that Elizabeth I spent her reigning summers travelling with an entire royal entourage of 400-600 horse drawn carts. They travelled slowly, an average of 10-12 miles a day. Her visits to houses incurred significant expenses for the host, thus they weren’t always happy to have her stay.