› added 11 years ago

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TIL As a sophomore in high school Wilt Chamberlain scrimmaged the MVP of the College National Champions and won so badly his opponent quit basketball and became a tractor engineer.

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yV7me TIL GPS, despite being free for global use, costs around $2 million a day to operate and maintain. This budget covers satellite launches and system upkeep, funded through American tax revenue.
neG09 TIL Heinrich Otto Wieland researched bile acids, toad poisons and won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Wieland also protected people, especially Jewish students, who were "racially burdened" after the Nuremberg Laws. Expelled students could stay in his group as chemists
Zk7Y TIL: a 13 yr old who made a Braille printer out of Legos after discovering that millions of blind people in developing countries buy Braille devices that cost $2K and weigh 20 lbs. His prints Braille from computers to paper using raised dots instead of ink, weighs a few lbs, and costs only $350.
r76M TIL there’s a line of 70 foot long concrete arrows that bisects the country longitudinally all the way from San Francisco to New York City. They’re from the pre-digital age and were installed by the Federal gov’t in 1924 with 50’ tall towers with rotating gas-powered lights to aid lost pilots.
NKXe TIL With over 4,700 species of frogs, only one (the Pacific Tree Frog) goes “RIBBIT”. Because Hollywood sound engineers recorded clips of local frogs for various films over the years, we associate the “RIBBIT” sound with frogs to this day.