› added 12 years ago

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TIL that, unlike other professions in the USA, members of the Clergy can opt-out from Social Security, and 30% do. Many who opt-out from paying into the system have been let back in to collect benefits when they retire.

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via reddit.com

69NE7 TIL lumps of ice from 5 kg to more than 50 kg in mass can form in the atmosphere and hit the ground like a meteor.
ONVa TIL The United States attempted to buy Greenland in 1946 for $100,000,000 ($1.3 billion today).
Y7Jg7 TIL the Trabant became the most common car in East Germany and the average worker there had to wait between 10 to 13 years to acquire one. In the 1980s, it was manufactured with no tachometer, no external fuel door, and no fuel gauge and drivers had to use a dipstick to measure the remaining fuel.
05Jv TIL that The Sopranos were nominated for 112 Emmys, despite only airing 86 episodes.
xKAD TIL That in some regions withing China farmers have to pollinate apple trees by hand. This is due to the lack of any bees, which is in turn due to mass extermination of “pests” carried out by Mao Zedong during the great leap forward. (more links in comments).