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TIL LA was the first major city to sync all it’s traffic lights, doing so in 2015 after initially promising to do so in 1984. The completed synchronization supposedly increased travel speed by 16 percent and reduced travel times by 12 percent.

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mxQdM TIL Wifi exists because cellular networks didn't license the frequency band (2.4 GHz) since the frequency is subject to interference, allowing researchers to experiment with the unlicensed band and develop the technology
5oNB TIL there was a custom in ancient Babylon compelling all women at least once in their lives to go to the temple of Aphrodite and have sex with a stranger.
Xl58 TIL the Great Famine of Ireland caused so many deaths, that Ireland’s population still has not recovered (even after 150 years)
R5MWj TIL to decide what measurement system America should use, John Quincy Adams took 3 1/2 years to produce a 268 page Report on Weights and Measures that ultimately concluded changing to the French metric system would be too difficult for the young nation. Congress took no action on the report.
P1EJV TIL in 2015 a US University suspended a Jewish student who had posted a Hindu Swastika on his residence hall's University board. He had learnt about the symbol on a spring break trip to India.