› added 4 years ago

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TIL there are competitions all aroun the world to grow the largest and heaviest pumpkin, with the current record being over a ton.

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wL6d6 TIL: Pigeons can't walk without bobbing their heads
ZpD1v TIL that in the late 1800's and early 1900's, gambling on US elections was extremely widespread. In New York, the amount of money spent on betting on elections would often exceed the total trading in stocks and bonds. Since there weren't modern polls, betting odds were how newspaper predicted races.
kJlwg TIL the CIA tested the SR-71 radar signature by mounting it to a pole in the desert (Area 51). It was removed daily just before the Soviet satellite passed above. But since a shadow was created on the hot desert dirt - the temperature differential exposed the exact shape of the jet to the Soviets
6yLZ TIL that there’s a Justice League comic in which a superhero assassinates a Saddam Hussein analogue in order to end the atrocities of his regime. His actions actually end up destabilizing the country, making the quality of life for citizens much worse than it was before. The comic came out in 1999.
jNgoR TIL that inoculation against smallpox was already practised in Africa, China and Turkey long before it reached Western Europe and North America