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TIL that Volvo invented the three-point seatbelt, then gave the invention away for free. They decided it was too important of an invention to keep to themselves.

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loVrV TIL that there are varieties that are complete but not projective.
GmGQ TIL King James VI of Scotland was so notorious for not reading official papers before signing them, his court jester was able to get him to sign his own abdication papers, making his jester King for 15 days.
gMrm7 Our absurd-but-useful comparison of the month
5YnP TIL that the reason the Toronto Maple Leafs are not called the Maple “Leaves” is that the name was chosen in honour of the Maple Leaf Regiment from World War I. As the regiment is a proper noun, its plural is Maple Leafs (not Maple Leaves).
x66Yg TIL King Louis XIV of France covered his telescope’s objective lens with a piece of smoked glass to view the solar eclipse. This method remained popular for a couple hundred years until the 1930s when products such as the Eclipse-o-scope became available