› added 12 years ago

101

TIL that ~47% of Italians are functionally illiterate

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d860Z TIL that a Power plant can turn waste to energy | Ethiopia
Yp8Nx TIL Pluto was discovered in 1930. It takes around 248 years to complete one orbit around the sun. Since its discovery it still has not even made one complete orbit.
D1NQp TIL Concorde flew so high passengers received twice the dose of radiation from flying in a conventional aircraft, which was believed to increase cancer risk. The flight deck contained a radiometer so they could descend in case of a solar storm.
WkaMd TIL that the largest island of the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu was originally named "La Austrialia [sic] del Espíritu Santo" - after both the monarchy of Austria (ancestors of the Spanish monarchs) and the Great Southern Continent, Terra Australis (which Australia was later named for)
nA4G TIL the reason that a donkey represents democrats is that Andrew Jackson’s opponents called him a jackass, so he embraced it and used the strong-willed animal on his campaign posters.