› added 6 years ago

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TIL Bolivia became landlocked in 1904 after losing the War of the Pacific. However, the country still observes the Day of the Sea, "where politicians give speeches and people listen to the recorded sound of seagulls."

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via reddit.com

Oo5Q1 TIL that pilots departing from California's John Wayne Airport are required by law to cut their engines and pitch nose down shortly after takeoff for about 6 miles in order to reduce noise in the residential area below.
pKPZ TIL that neuroscientists in Japan discovered a protein that is essential for rapid communication between the eyes and they brain, so they named it “pikachurin” due to Pikachu’s “lightning-fast moves and shocking electric effects.”
JY46V TIL in 1964 an icy runway caused a taxiing B-58 bomber to flop over and topple onto its fuel tanks. This ignited 14,000 gallons of blended gasoline and kerosene and barbecued the bomber’s nuclear payload…including a 9-megaton bomb powerful enough to flash fry any exposed human within 20 miles.
5WP TIL Chinese companies hire white people to give the impression they are “international”
16Lr TIL that the ancient Greeks believed that gingers turn into vampires when they die!