› added 4 years ago

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TIL that Al-Qaeda were surprised by the collapse of the Twin Towers. Among those planning the attacks, Osama Bin Laden had been the most "optimistic", due to his experience in engineering, and had predicted that the fire would collapse the area where the planes hit and all the floors above only

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via reddit.com

KOnY4 TIL that an estimated 25% of young adults in the U.S. have a fear of the slight pain caused by needles called trypanophobia, and that it may lead 16% of young adults in the U.S. to skip getting medical injections.
Xnjr TIL that brilliant mathematician Paul Erdös took amphetamines daily to fuel his intensive work schedule. A concerned friend bet he couldn’t quit. He went cold turkey for 30 days to prove he wasn’t an addict and then started up again saying “you’ve set mathematics back by a month.”
YNa7 TIL Rick and Morty largely only exists because Bill Cosby’s lawyers sent a cease and desist to Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon in 2005 over an internet series called ‘House of Cosbys’.
VMMK8 TIL in 2013 when Ed Sheeran's "The A Team" received a Grammy nomination Elton John tried to get Ed a performance slot at the award show, but was told he was not high-profile enough. Elton decided to perform with Ed to solve the problem.
PVkO TIL that NPR posted a link “Why doesn’t America read anymore?” to their Facebook page; the link led to an April Fool’s message saying that many people comment on a story without ever reading the article & asking not to comment if you read the link; people commented immediately on how they do read.