› added 6 years ago

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TIL from 1982-1983, three men in Allentown PA competed in a radio contest in which they lived on top of a billboard in tents. Whoever stayed up longest would win a house. Due to economic pressure from the recession, none of the contestants wanted to give up, so the contest lasted almost 9 months.

4XgX6 TIL that as a white belt, Paul Walker told his BJJ coach that he would get his black belt "even if he needed to get it in his coffin", shortly after Walker's death, that same coach awarded Walker his black belt and told his father he could put it in his coffin.
W75wo 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.
R5VRj TIL the University of New Hampshire received millions in bequest from the frugal librarian, the late Robert Morin, who served the institution for many years. $1 million from the said funds was utilized to acquire a scoreboard for the freshly-constructed football stadium.
0wdvM To conform to the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the U.S. must cull its deployed nuclear strategic warheads by roughly 700. Once the National Nuclear Security Administration’s scientists inspect each warhead to determine the best way to take it apart, it goes to Pantex Plant in Texas, the only facility cleared to disassemble nukes.
xVXog TIL that Mozart was one of the first to pirate music. He heard Miserere while in a chapel and transcribed the entire composition from memory later that day.