› added 3 weeks ago

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TIL of The Ark, a ship hired in 1633 to bring 140 English colonists to the Province of Maryland. On it's trip over the Atlantic, wine was passed out to celebrate Christmas, resulting in 30 people falling ill with fever, and 12 people dying

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bo8Z TIL that if California was a separate nation it would have the 8th largest economy in the world. In 1999 it would have ranked 6th.
kOpA5 TIL that “moonbows” are a natural phenomenon that occurs when (1) the moon is close to full, (2) rain is falling opposite the moon, and (3) the moon is low. Since the moon is the only source of light, the lunar rainbow will appear monochromatic to the naked eye. (More links in comments)
R5My9 TIL the Rectoanal Inhibitory Reflex, or anal sampling mechanism, tells us if a fart is more than just a fart
E1Kv0 TIL Scientists trained 17 rats to drive tiny cars; each rat stood on the aluminum floor of the car & gripped copper bars with their paws to complete a circuit to propel the car. By touching left/center/right on the bar, rats could steer to pick up rewards of Froot Loops morsels in the arena.
R4y6 TIL there are over two million saunas in Finland and 5 million inhabitants, making an average of one sauna per household