› added 9 years ago

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TIL there are exploding lakes. Lake Nyos in Cambodia exploded in 1986 after being saturated with carbon dioxide from the volcanic vent below it. The resulting CO2 cloud suffocated 1700 people.

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v1B4B TIL that In 2011, S.N.C.F., the French state railway company, apologized to victims of the Holocaust after lawmakers in the United States moved to block it from winning contracts there if the firm did not acknowledge its role in the shipping of Jews to death camps.
VMybZ TIL about the U.S. Air Force's doomsday weapon, SLAM. The rocket was designed to fly fast and low over the Soviet Union, dropping hydrogen bombs over predetermined targets while its unshielded nuclear reactor contaminated everything in it's path.
Br1JK TIL Lamborghini started as a tractor company. In the early 1960’s, its founder, Ferruccio Lamborghini, unimpressed with sports cars of the time, set out to build his own. He was also told, “You may be able to drive a tractor, but you will never be able to handle a Ferrari,” by Enzo Ferrari.
mxZLx TIL that cutting beef consumption in favour of chicken and plant proteins could liberate 28 million square kms of land - the size of the US, Canada and China combined.
jNNPN TIL that Engblom v. Carey is the only case in US history to set meaningful precedent on the Third Amendment. It held that National Guard members count as soldiers, and that employees count as 'owners' of employee housing.