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TIL in 1978 British explorer Tim Severin proved it was possible for a 6th century Irish boat clad in leather to make the journey across the Atlantic from Ireland to North America. This was done to test if St. Brendan the Navigators described journey across the Atlantic was possible at the time.

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XjAX TIL that Switzerland has enough fallout shelters to cover 114% of its population, including the largest fallout shelter in the world, the Sonnenberg Tunnel, designed to house 20 000 civilians, though reassessed for 10 000 to 17 000
Ovk1 TIL that while gold has been mined for 6,000 years, 75% of all extracted gold was mined after 1910
ADMga TIL Nintendo created a video game based on the Popeye comic strip, but could not acquire licensing rights for the characters. Rather than scrap the work that was done, it released with a new cast - a plumber, his girlfriend, and a gorilla - and was renamed "Donkey Kong" after the game's antagonist.
1a1mD TIL A Sperm whale can click at about 236 decibels, making it the loudest animal on Earth. Some researchers believe they can contact each other in the ocean even from opposite sides of the planet. For comparison, a jet engine takeoff registers 150 dB. NASA's Saturn V rocket launch registered 204 dB.
dBZd TIL Private prisons keep prisoners incarcerated longer for the same crimes