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TIL that George Newhall and Tom Yohe, co-creators of the "School House Rock" series of educational short songs, produced a similar series for NBC in 1978 called "The Metric Marvels" to teach kids about the metric system in support of the US' short-lived transition to metric.

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61R8 TIL that there are 17 American men in history who have run under 2:10 in the marathon. In contrast, there were 32 Kenyans who did it just in October of 2011.
6Ekrm TIL that there are elections in North Korea, on election day, everyone aged 17 and up is legally obliged to show up to vote. Once it is your turn to vote, you are given a ballot paper with just one name on it, nothing to fill in or cross out, you just take the paper and stick in a ballot box.
x6Xjw TIL In 16th - 17th century Europe and America, the concept of 'bundling' was widely used. This process allowed courting couples to share a bed, fully clothed with a 'bundling board' to separate them. This allowed a pair to talk and get to know each other in the safe confines of the girl's house.
e0Een TIL of an algae-based polymer gel injection which stops bleeding almost immediately; it forms a clot within 12 seconds & permanently heals a wound within minutes. It was invented by Joe Landolina when he was a teenager, and so far is approved for veterinary use.
a8pGo TIL Constantin Henriquez de Zubiera was the first black athlete to become an Olympic gold medalist as a member of the France squad that won the title at the first Olympic rugby tournament at Paris in 1900. He also won the bronze in the tug of war at the same Games.