› added 6 years ago

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TIL: America's Interstate Highway System was motivated by National Defense as much as it was by commerce. The full name is "National System of Interstate and Defense Highways". Eisenhower's military experience convinced him highways were needed to redeploy troops if America was invaded or nuked.

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16Rvd TIL that Kai Ryssdal, host of NPR's 'Marketplace', was a US naval aviator and Pentagon staff officer attaining the rank of Lieutenant. Afterwards, he worked at a Borders bookstore for $7/hr
j6ABn TIL about Skeeter Syndrome, a rare allergic reaction to mosquito bites that results in hard, plate-like sores that can limit mobility
XER16 TIL that Mozart was among the top income earners of society back in his day and lived lavishly, earning about 10,000 florins/yr vs 25 fl/yr for laborers and ~500 for some in the upper class. He was also not buried in a pauper’s grave, just that only Aristocrats were allowed to have private burials.
PD8E TIL: There is a 500-year-old Beer Purity Law still in effect today in Germany. It was decreed on April 23, 1516, by Munich’s Duke Wilhelm, protecting the country’s beer drinkers from contaminants, chemicals and any other additives that unsavory merchants might have thought of adding.
woKa1 TIL the British Royal Yacht carried a crew of 241 who were required to carry out their duties in silence known as “unobtrusive excellence,” meaning that most orders were given using sign language and crew members wore slippers to further minimize noise.