› added 4 years ago

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TIL: In 1665, King Charles II said the southern border of Virginia colony must stretch to the Pacific! In the end it didn't, but over years a resulting survey line (along 36°30′ N.Lat.) became part of 6 state borders (VA, NC, KY, TN, OK, TX). (The line was also a slave/free states divider out West.)

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rR16x TIL that "Bonsai" is not a specific type of tree, but the Japanese art form of making trees look miniature.
5V9jP TIL scientists calculated that a week-long nuclear war involving about 100 nuclear weapons would kill 27 million people directly and 255 million people from starvation, while a week-long war involving 4,400 nuclear weapons would kill 360 million people directly and 5 billion people from starvation.
l7OjK TIL: The Beatles were slow to the online music revolution. Beatles songs finally became available on iTunes in November 2010. Within a couple of days, 28 of the top 100 tunes being downloaded were by The Beatles. The band also made up 16 of the top 50 albums, including four in the top 10.
g1ED TIL the texas GOP had once rejected the teaching of higher order of thinking (critical thinking skills) out of fear of students challenging fixed beliefs and parental authority.
0kAj TIL Samuel L Jackson has a clause in all his movie contracts stating that he gets 2 days off a week to play golf and the producers have to pay for it