› added 5 years ago

83

TIL that Lake Chad, in Africa, was at one point larger than the Caspian Sea

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rN950 TIL about Frank Hann, an Australian explorer who collected the cut off ears of Aboriginal people and kept their sliced off heads as souvenirs
BgoOr TIL that a 17 year old Boy Scout created a homemade “breeder” nuclear reactor. The experiment wasn’t entirely successful, but the FBI had to intervene. He later died several years later due to unrelated causes
4exJ TIL that there is evidence to suggest that the reason Asian cultures are typically more skilled at maths than non-Asian cultures is not due to intelligence, but to the nature of their languages.
6ERam TIL in 2005 a woman in Arkansas survived hitting parking lot asphalt face-first during her first solo jump after her main chute failed and reserve malfunctioned, only to learn during surgery that she was pregnant. The baby also survived.
VMlWG TIL that the Hatian Revolution was "the only slave uprising that led to the founding of a state which was both free from slavery, and ruled by non-whites and former captives."