› added 9 years ago

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TIL that the Soviets had another massive nuclear disaster before Chernobyl which contaminated up to 20,000 square km of land. Despite their attempts to hide the incident the CIA knew all about it, but they also covered it up to prevent the growing US nuclear industry from panicking.

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via reddit.com

7rkLx TIL that the mirror 'self awareness' test was conducted on ants, and the results showed that they may actually be self aware. A blue dot was painted on individuals in a place they could not normally see, and they did not attempt to clean it off until they were in front of a mirror.
5V5RR TIL If you plant an apple seed, the tree that develops from it will not produce the same apples as the one you planted. This is due to the fact that apples are cross pollinators, which means they require pollen from other types of apples to grow.
8aPZa TIL Jimmy Fallon owns the rights to the Olive Garden slogan “When You’re Here, You’re Family.” A licensing agreement was reached when the restaurant decided to retire the slogan, which allows Fallon to use it on his show.
GvxN TIL that there is a man in Sweden who received disability benefits for his “addiction” to heavy metal. He reportedly went to 300 concerts in one year which left him unable to hold down a job.
xV7eg TIL Anne of Kiev became a Queen of France. By naming her first son and future King of France Philip, she is credited with introducing this Greek name (Philippos, from Philos and hippos, meaning "loves horses") to royal families of Western Europe