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TIL that the southern United States converted all its railroads from broad gauge (5 feet/1.524 meters) to standard gauge (4 feet 8 1⁄2 inches/​1.435 meters) in 36 hours starting on May 31, 1886

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Mod0 TIL Tupac’s last words, when a cop asked who shot him: “Fuck You.”
PBDg TIL that a dead whale that drops to the bottom of the ocean can support an entire ecosystem for 50 to 100 years.
7aRX TIL the US Department of Justice and the National Institute of Justice reported in 2004 that the effects of renewing the 1994 assault weapon ban might be “too small for reliable measurement” because “[assault weapons] were rarely used in gun crimes even before the ban”.
E1gMP TIL The 1996 film "Crash" (about people who sexually fetishize car crashes) was proposed for a ban in the UK. A lawyer, a psychologist, and 11 disabled people watched the film, and found no basis for a ban. The disabled people in particular saw no offense in its portrayal of disability.
Z45a TIL in 1965, seeds that were dated to 2,000 years old were discovered in an ancient jar in Israel. The seeds were kept in storage for 40 years and after they were planted, a tree that had been extinct for over 1800 years sprouted.