› added 6 months ago

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TIL there is no such thing as a private beach in Australia. All land that the high tide touches is owned by the Crown - and therefore public land - even if erosion moves the high tide mark inland.

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via reddit.com

1aGyV TIL that early phonographs didn't have volume control. People stuffed socks and towels into them to quiet them--which is where we get the phrase "put a sock in it"
Z8ZWG TIL that Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, but never tried to make an antibiotic out of it. It was not until a decade later that a man named Howard Florey found Fleming's little-known paper and realized the mold's potential. Florey's work is estimated to have saved up to 200,000,000 lives.
m6Kv TIL the Safe Drinking Water Act is so out of date that the water Americans drink can pose what scientists say are serious health risks — and still be legal. Only 91 contaminants are regulated by the Act, yet more than 60,000 chemicals are used within the United States, according to EPA estimates.
XGg6 TIL that America has the most guns per capita in the world at 89 guns per 100 people
QN9NM TIL About concrete canvas buildings.