› added 11 years ago

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TIL that Canada has possibly over 3 million lakes - that is more than all other countries combined! Thus, Canada has more fresh water than any other country and almost 9% of Canadian territory is water.

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Wapo TIL that when he took over as the head of Colorado’s department of corrections, Rick Raimisch spent a day incarcerated in solitary confinement, after which he called for immediate reform relating to the practice.
e086b TIL that in the 1938 World Cup, Brazil were so sure of winning the semi-final against Italy that they requisitioned the only plane to Paris on the day after the match. After losing to Italy, they refused to sell them the tickets, and the Italian team had to travel from Marseilles to Paris by train
8aMJG TIL caffeine evolved independently in many plants. It's toxic in high doses to hungry insects, and caffeinated leaf litter can make soil toxic for other competing plants. Separately, pollinators receive a light "buzz" from caffeine in pollen, and are more likely to remember the flower's scent.
7rZEr TIL that Queen Victoria’s journals are only 1/3 complete, as her daughter, Princess Beatrice, heavily censored them when she copied them by hand and burned the originals once the task was done
adaZ TIL that the speeding up mechanism in Space Invaders was actually unintentional - the processor was just ‘more efficient when there were fewer objects on screen’