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TIL that Iceland in 1940 passed a law that made swimming lessons mandatory in schools starting at grade 1 (age 6) to grade 10 (age 16). Lessons are held once a week. Historically, a lot of Icelandic seamen had met a tragic end because of the harsh sea and this law was an attempt at saving lives.

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epaL4 TIL that the state of Mississippi didn't ratify the 13th Amendment which abolished slavery until 2013 and it only happened because somebody watched the movie "Lincoln" and was curious about the amendment.
RnXa TIL when Hollywood movie posters can’t be imported to Ghana, locals will try their hand at drawing them.
VMpEZ TIL peeling Scotch Tape in a vacuum releases enough X-rays to produce an image of finger bones on X-ray film
GA1R7 TIL That character actor William Smith, whose roles included the Russian Spetsnaz colonel in Red Dawn, nearly had a different career path. While in the Air Force Smith attained several top secret clearances and was considered for a role in the intelligence community before he decided on acting.
A7wx TIL after hearing Kennedy’s “end of the decade” speech, an Englishman made a wager with a bookmaker of 10 pounds at 1000/1 “that a man will set foot on the surface of the moon before the first of January 1970.” He thought it was “a common sense bet.”