› added 4 years ago

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TIL that there is 1400 tons of unexploded (and rapidly degrading) munitions 1.5 miles off the coast of Kent (UK). If it explodes, it would likely cause a bigger explosion than the one in Beirut.

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v1KWx TIL That on the 12th of September 1897 21 sikh solders held their own against 10000 enemy tribesmen at the battle of Saragarhi, killing 180 and buying enough time for the nearby British fort to prepare and suppress the insurrection. All 21 were given the Indian Order Of Merit.
awxbZ TIL that German born actor Werner Klemperer (Col. Klink from Hogan's Heroes) actually served in the US Army during WWII.
1aWoV TIL newborns are "obligate nose breathers" meaning that they can only breathe through their nose for the first few months of their life.
v86K TIL studies of Raccoon’s showed that they can solve complex locks in less than 10 tries, and remember task solutions for up to three years. Their North American population has also increased up to 20 times since 1930. And they travel in same sex packs of 4.
L4JP TIL that in 1955 for every 100,000 US citizens there was 340 psychiatric hospital beds. In 2005 that number had diminished to 17 per 100,000.