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TIL that the number of people living in the USA that are illiterate is almost equal to the entire population of Canada (32,000,000 vs 35,000,000)

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gMYm9 TIL in all history people have only taken ~200k tons of gold out of the earth. To compare, when Edmund Fitzgerald went down with 26k tons of iron, it was one of dozens such freighters that's moves that much iron every single day the Great Lakes shipping lanes are open, a fraction of daily worldwide
6ExZ TIL in 1193, a Minaret Tower was built in the remote mountainous region of what’s now Afghanistan. Beautiful inscriptions on the side celebrates religious pluralism and what Christianity, Judaism and other religions have in common with Islam. Double-Helix stairs allowed it to survive over 800 years!
PYBkJ TIL that the Brooklyn Dodgers name stems from a nickname given in the 1890s to people who, in a matter of life and death, had to evade railcars speeding down the streets. They were known as trolley dodgers.
bmV4 TIL there’s a website containing thousands of first hand accounts of slavery from former slaves. Many (if not most) of the former slaves have nothing but positive things to say about their former masters.
8aRVV TIL The Tetris Company emerged from a Soviet agency. Today, it licences it's trademark and doesn't make the game anymore. Instead it sues people who make unlicensed clones.