› added 4 years ago

55

TIL Cicadas live underground for 17 years before coming out to mate

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J1jKv TIL: Lemons are not a naturally occurring fruit. They were created in SE Asia by crossing a citron with a bitter orange around 4000 years ago. They were spread around the world after found to prevent scurvy. Life didn’t give us lemons.. We made them ourselves.
LmPV TIL that there is a place in outback Australia where New Year’s Eve occurs thrice every year due to the intersection of 3 timezones.
gMbx4 TIL that in 1790, Thomas Jefferson proposed a decimal-based system for weight, length, and volume that predates the metric system. If it had been adopted, 1 mile would equal 10,000 ft, an inch would be divisible by 10, and 1 cubic foot would equal exactly 1,000 ounces.
e0kvE TIL it's possible for hay and straw to spontaneously combust if it's too wet when stored.
P7Nw TIL Prince Jefri Bolkiah of Brunei has a harem of forty women, including a former Miss USA who sued the Sultan for keeping her and other women as sex slaves but lost the lawsuit after the Prince claimed diplomatic immunity