› added 11 years ago

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TIL 13 years ago Portugal decriminalized the usage of drugs. This legalization has been proven a success, increasing the number of people seeking drug abuse support and lowering the rate of HIV spread through drug usage.

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LkJ7p TIL that one of the most effective weapons in WW2 was the proximity fuzed shell: the allies were so terrified of the enemy getting hold of samples they were initially only to be used over water by the Navy - there was an embargo on their use over land until 1944.
QN8op TIL that some US states, such as Massachusetts, Michigan, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina, still have laws that prohibit blasphemy to varying degrees. However, the First Amendment protects freedom of speech, rendering these laws obsolete and unenforceable.
OMZa TIL Jamaica is seen as “the most homophobic place on Earth”. Homosexual men face ten years imprisonment, and cases of beatings and murder directed at the LGBT population are extremely commonplace.
neexd TIL That in 1930 a man and his 150 year old pet turtle went over Niagara Falls in a barrel and survived the initial fall, to only suffocate after being stuck under the falls for 18 hours. The Turtle survived the entire ordeal.
j6BXN TIL that the Montreal Protocol in 1987 was the first universally ratified treaty in United Nations history. All 198 parties agreed to reduce the production of CFCs to protect the ozone layer. It has been considered one of the most successful international agreements to date.