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TIL it's estimated that 16% of the world's gold and 22% of the world's silver is contained in Japan's electronics alone- so much that Japan is asking its citizens to donate old electronics to make the Olympic medals.

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M77vK TIL Prior to Uncle Sam, the British character Brother Jonathon symbolized the independent American people after the Revolutionary War. However, Brother Jonathon faded into the figure of Uncle Sam whose likeness to Lincoln and being made in America likely contributed to his longevity.
0drgv TIL that on average, drivers in the US spend about $20 billion a year in overpaying for parking spots and 17 hours every year is spent by each driver searching for one.
6oX8 TIL that in 1942, 13-year-old Seaman Calvin Graham was decorated for valor in battle. Then his mother learned where he’d been and revealed his secret to the Navy.
QJmxE TIL the US made Schoolhouse Rock-like cartoons called The Metric Marvels in 1978 to prepare the country to switch to the metric system
VBnLD TIL not all rectangular national flags have the same proportions. Belgium (13:15), Niger (6:7) and Denmark (28:37) are almost a square. Paraguay (11:20), America (10:19) and Qatar (11:28) are flatter bois. El Salvador is a 189:335 and Togo is a 1:φ.