› added 7 months ago

37

TIL that in 1980, Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore warned Australia it was on track to become the ‘poor white trash of Asia’ if it didn’t open up its economy. Australia did open its economy, thrived, and has very close and friendly relations with Singapore.

Read more afr.com

via reddit.com

awoeb TIL In 2019, Roderick Sewell became the first-ever above-the-knee double-amputee to complete the grueling Ironman World Championship on prosthetic legs. The race included him completing a 112 mile bike ride he completed by pedaling a recumbent bike with his arms.
Y9ZA TIL scientists estimate only 14% of the 10-14 million species on earth have been documented and over earths history there have been 5 billion different species.
wLpRY TIL that QWERTY keyboards were invented to prevent typewriters from jamming. Following its invention, the Dvorak keyboard was introduced and was said to improve typing speed by 5-10% but still is not widely used.
jNyGa TIL One cup measure for baking/cooking can vary by country making a big difference in the outcome of recipes.
OoQv6 TIL the German Army conducted a "Jewish Census" of their soldiers during WWI, designed to prove that Jews were shirking military service. It ended up proving the opposite, so the results were never published.