› added 5 years ago

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TIL that in 1949 the Costa Rican government abolished their army, stating that the army "would be replaced with an army of teachers." The country has free universal public education and a literacy rate of 97%.

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1lxV TIL ExxonMobile, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips are descendant companies of John D. Rockefeller’s oil empire Standard Oil. Rockefeller was worth $237 billion.
YpVYZ TIL that Yakutsk, in the Siberian region known as the Sakha Republic, is widely identified as the world’s coldest city. Winter temperatures regularly fall to -40°F (-40°C) and the lowest ever recorded was a staggering -83°F (-63.89°C)
momo TIL Australian Phil Baker was walking on the beach while waiting to meet his son, Benji for the first time in 13 years. Phil saw a kayaker in trouble. He dove into the ocean and carried the half-conscious man to shore. The man turned out to be Benji
e0r7g TIL Yawning is more contagious among people who are emotionally close. An experiment found family members showed the greatest contagion, in terms of both occurrence of yawning and frequency of yawns, while strangers and acquaintances showed a comparatively longer delay in the yawn response.
8ar48 TIL Antonio Inoki, founder of New Japan Pro Wrestling also created a governing body to oversee all aspects of the promotions championships and help sell the companies realistic style. It was that governing body that became the International Wrestling Grand Prix (IWGP).