› added 6 years ago

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TIL of William James Beal. In 1879, he started one of the longest running experiments in botany, testing the seed viability of 21 plant species over long periods of time. The experiment is scheduled to finish in 2100, when the last bottle of seeds will be tested.

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9nZB TIL More Africans have access to cell phone service than piped water. 63% have access to piped water. Yet, 93% of Africans have cell phone service.
7rPRb TIL in 2008, Phoenix AZ reported itself to be the kidnapping capitol of the US, with almost one kidnapping every single day. They receieved millions in federal funds. It was a lie.
xVLob TIL Mac Hadley, experimented on himself by injecting a sunless tanning compound he was working on, but instead it gave him an eight-hour erection along with nausea and vomiting
yVbDX TIL that humans produce 10^21 digital bits of information annually, and assuming an annual 20% growth rate, in 500 years, digital content will account for more than half Earth’s mass.
5YJlB TIL During WW2, Britain shipped most of its gold reserves and foreign securities to Canada in crates labeled 'Fish'. They were stored for years in an office building in downtown Montreal, where about 5000 people worked throughout the war without having a clue about what was hidden in their basement.