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TIL that in the U.S. in 1902, more than half of new car registrations were for steam-powered cars. Steam engines were safe, reliable, and familiar, having already been used in trains and boats. However, they were heavy, slow to start (the water had to boil), and required constant attention.

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OoR4Y TIL the Khlysty, a Russian Christian sect, would engage at the end of their services in "group sinning" (a frenzied sexual orgy), to purify themselves from the lusts of the flesh. They believed that salvation required total repentance, which was far more achievable for one who had truly transgressed
yQoAl TIL that the mysterious baroque painter Johannes Gumpp is known to have painted only one self portrait which also happens to be a triple self portrait in which he appears from behind painting his own face reflected in a mirror.
8eQpZ TIL of Peter Badcoe, an Australian infantry officer fighting in the Vietnam War who received the Victoria Cross from Australia; then a Purple heart, Silver Star and Air Medal by the USA; and then a National Order plus at least two Crosses of Gallantry by the Republic of South Vietnam.
wLyD6 TIL Europeans brought deadly viruses and bacteria, such as smallpox, measles, typhus, and cholera, for which Native Americans had no immunity
4xoa TIL the Chinese have opened the highest and longest glass-bottom bridge in the world in an area known as the Avatar Mountains. The bridge spans 430 meters and is as much as 300 meters high.