› added 3 months ago

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TIL: The USA’s only high-speed rail by international standards is Acela, which reached 160 mph in August 2025 with new trains but only for 40 miles (9%) of its 457-mile route. However, the New York Times and Al Jazeera don’t consider the USA to have any high-speed rail.

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via reddit.com

NXXKe TIL that the Alt-J album cover “An awesome wave” is a European Space Agency satellite image of the Ganges River Delta in Bangladesh and India and was found by the band when they searched for images related to the word “delta”, the triangle symbol for the band
dD9gK TIL pizza rolls were created in the 1960s by a cook working for a Chinese food company searching for new uses for their egg roll machine. She tested several sandwich fillings, but pizza flavors tested best, causing her to say, "Pizza rolls are nothing but egg rolls with pizza crust and filling."
l7ZQa TIL oranges are actually a hybrid between mandarin oranges and pomelos.
KOAOJ TIL that International Master Jeremy Silman created the Chess puzzle for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone where Ron sacrifices himself, but wasn't credited for his role, while "everyone from the hairdressers to the donut delivery boy" were.
0VAp TIL The depression throughout Japan following WWII was what inspired Osamu Tezuka,the father of manga and a medical student at the time,to draw comics to convince people to have hope again.These comics swept thru Japan and laid the foundation for the Japanese manga/anime culture that we know today