› added 8 years ago

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TIL the deepest mine in the world, Mponeng in S. Africa, has rock faces 140-degrees due to proximity to Earth’s core, and is inhabited by “ghost minders” – pale criminals armed with AKs and beer bottle grenades who reside in the shafts for months at a time to steal gold.

6EbjQ TIL about Ted Slauson who memorized hundreds of prices for prizes on “The Price is Right," and he helped a constant guess the exact price on the Showcase Showdown
W7Z4X TIL after learning he would lose the Tonight Show on NBC, Conan O'brien unveiled a new character on the show, the Bugatti Veyron Mouse, adorned with fake mouse ears and accompanied by a master recording of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction", just because. It cost NBC a total of $1.5 million.
xVMxk TIL that as compensation for claiming New Amsterdam (New York) from the Dutch in 1667, the English relinquished claims to the disputed South American territory of Suriname. Today, Suriname is the only independent country in the Americas where most people speak Dutch.
X9mr TIL a sailor who wishes to grow a beard in the Royal Navy has to submit a ‘permission to stop shaving’ form. He is then allowed two weeks to 'grow a full set’ before he presents himself to the Master at Arms who will decide if his beard looks stupid or is respectfully full enough to be permitted.
0d0yN TIL the 2024 Ig Nobel prize in physiology was awarded to researchers who discovered that mammals can breathe through their anuses. This might offer an alternative way of getting oxygen into critically ill patients if ventilator & artificial lung supplies run low.