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TIL Annie Kopchovsky—the first woman to cycle around the world—only learned how to ride a bike two days prior to setting off. She ended up accomplishing the trip in 15 months and won $10,000 for the feat.

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5Vx8Q TIL the term leap year probably comes from the fact that a fixed date in the Gregorian calendar normally advances one day of the week from one year to the next, but the day of the week in the 12 months following the leap day will advance two days due to the extra day, thus leaping over one day.
avjo TIL that Philadelphia cream cheese was first created in New York. It was named after Philadelphia because at the time, the city was renowned for its production of similar cheeses. Also, in Mexico, any brand of cream cheese is often referred to as “queso filadelfia.”
b9k5Z TIL that contrary to the previously held belief that cockroaches only developed a resistance to one class of pesticide after exposure, coakroaches can actually develop a “cross resistance” to multiple types of pesticide simultaneously
yQlXV TIL that despite its name, West Virginia’s “New River” is one of the oldest rivers in the world. It cuts through the middle of the Appalachian Mountains, themselves a remnant from the supercontinent Pangea. This is because it is probably older than either.
dA6d TIL the CIA lost a plutonium powered device in the glaciers that birth the Ganges River (Nanda Devi, 25643 ft) trying to spy on Chinese nuclear missile activity. There is still concern regarding the location and integrity of the radioactive material.