› added 10 years ago

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TIL in 1869, Chinese and Irish laborers working on the Central Pacific Railway managed to lay down 10 miles of tracks in just one day. This accomplishment has not been matched even in modern times.

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jN7nN TIL of Kenny, a mutated gene that is named after Kenny McCormick from South Park, which causes adult flies to die within two days after they are infected with certain bacteria.
QgxX TIL there is an island which is so densely populated by poisonous snakes the Brazilian Navy has quarantined it and a biologist once said that when on the island you are “never more than three feet from death.” Oh, and it’s called “Snake Island.”
8e9DL TIL: The longest word published in the Oxford dictionary is pronounced "noo-muh-noh-ul-truh-my-kro-skop-ik-sil-i-ko-vol-kay-no-koh-nee-oh-sis."
AD4v4 TIL about the Carrington Event which destroyed huge parts of the world's electrical system at the time.
D4Wg TIL that Bob Dole’s ‘96 election site is still live.