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TIL that during the Cold War, the USSR mapped the entire world to precise detail. The U.S State Department still uses the maps today due to their accuracy

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ayxy TIL some Viking runes are simply graffiti, translated as “Ingigerth is the most beautiful of all women” or “Tholfir Kolbeinsson carved these runes high up.”
grOZ4 TIL During WW1, senior officers in the British Royal Flying Corps banned their pilots from having parachutes, claiming they would encourage pilots to bail out rather than continue fighting.
Kdw TIL that Albert Michelson, celebrated for his work in discovering the speed of light, got a free education at the US naval accademy just because he hung out by the door to the Whitehouse and went (initially uninvited) for daily morning walks with the President (Grant).
xAW0 TIL 48% of Americans can immediately come up with $400 in emergency cash without borrowing it or selling something (via 2013 Federal Reserve report)
9xmQ TIL that in the city of Mackinac Island, Michigan, cars have been banned since 1898