› added 3 months ago

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TIL that Los Angeles is actually an active oil pumping field that at its height provided 25% of all the oil in the world. It's still pumping today, they just hide the many derricks in boxes and pretend they aren't really there.

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via reddit.com

x6g4D TIL that a mention of Chilean sea bass in Jurassic Park, coinciding with the FDA approving the fish’s culinary rebranding, caused demand for the fish to skyrocket
b9X97 TIL many famous British artists, including Rod Stewart and the Rolling Stones, left the UK in the early 70s to avoid an 83% tax on the top bracket of their income.
KV86 TIL that Napoleon I was actually 5'7", an average male height at the time, and his “shortness” was propaganda used by the British that is still believed today.
gMBEy TIL that the Apollo 11 astronauts signed applications to Travelers Insurance Company for space travel accident insurance for their mission to the moon. The policies would insure against accidents but also against "disease endemic to the lunar surface or its environs".
9VJ7 TIL That 18 material witnesses died within 3 years after JFK’s death - six by gunfire, three in motor accidents, two by suicide, one from a cut throat, one from a karate chop to the neck, three from heart attacks, and two from natural causes.