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TIL in 1954 the USSR proposed a dam to the U.S. that would close off the Bering Straight. The Soviets claimed it would block arctic cold currents that flow down over Korea and the Sea of Japan, warming it as much as 30 degrees. The U.S. declined.

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v7ex TIL At any time, it is estimated that there are some 10 quintillion (10,000,000,000,000,000,000) individual insects alive.
ZpwMo TIL that after releasing two albums that flopped, Neil Young was sued by his label, Geffen Records, for releasing music with so little commercial appeal that it was "unrepresentative" of himself. After the lawsuit, he released two more albums on the same label, leading to lowest sales in his career.
9YrLX TIL FEMA tweeted a 1-800 phone sex talk line when they meant to tweet a 1-888 Hurricane Irma helpline. They soon tweeted the correct one, but some hurricane victims had already dialed in to hear: “Welcome to America’s hottest talk line. Guys, hot ladies are waiting to talk to you."
yQbQM TIL on October 2, 1978, Tim Allen was arrested in the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport for possession of over 650 grams (1.43 lb) of cocaine. He pleaded guilty to felony drug trafficking charges and provided the names of other dealers in exchange for a sentence of three to seven years.
Wwdd TIL that abstract artist Ad Reinhardt painted only giant black squares for the last 10 years of his life, hiding within each painting subtle red/blue shapes only perceptible to the patient viewer who’s let his/her eyes adjust to the stark color palette.