› added 6 years ago

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TIL that the average delay of a Japanese bullet train is just 54 seconds, despite factors such as natural disasters. If the train is more than five minutes late, passengers are issued with a certificate that they can show their boss to show that they are late.

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BgZJe TIL that the first surviving full-length animated film played in cinemas was produced in the German Reich in 1926 and was directed by a woman - Lotte Reiniger
78V8M TIL Rembrandt's painting Bathsheba, an artwork famous for depicting a woman with breast cancer, was proven to not depict the disease after all, as scientists, after performing multiple simulations, concluded that the tone of blue the lesion has can only occur when the lesion is located at the skin.
l7oAB TIL: The pull-tab for the pop-top can was invented in 1959 by Ermal Fraze; who, after forgetting a can opener at a picnic, was forced to open his beer can using a car bumper.
dd0Z TIL in his later years, Sir Isaac Newton was appointed to a largely symbolic (but paid) position at the Royal Mint. He took the job seriously and successfully prosecuted many counterfeiters for high treason. Those convicted were hanged, drawn and quartered
69YKX TIL: The Mentor of Rhodes was a famous mercenary who fought against and for Artaxerxes III. After being captured after many assaults, he was pardoned and sent to invade his former refuge. Being successful, he was promoted to Satrap and given a horde of silver by his former enemy turned employer.