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TIL Franklin Sprague, an amateur tinkerer, in 1888 managed to build the very first electrified rail system that spanned 12 miles - a feat that was accomplished in just 90 days and paved the way for a viable mass transit system

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Bg6kk TIL the film American Pie (1999) was originally given an NC-17 rating and only secured an R rating after the infamous apple pie scene was edited down.
aba0 TIL From 1934-1942 Franklin D. Roosevelt had the government finance the planting of 220 million trees to combat the dust bowl.
PY9aO TIL at the end of the 17th century in an attempt to modernize society, Russian Emperor Peter the Great taxed any men who didn't shave their beard. Those that paid the tax carried around a copper or bronze token as proof they had paid.
MeNeB TIL about the "Dumbest Member of Congress" William L. Scott, US Senator from Virginia who being briefed by members of the military about missile silos in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, reportedly said "Wait a minute! I'm not interested in agriculture. I want the military stuff."
N79n6 TIL the US provided Laos with funds and concrete to expand an airport which could serve as a base for US fighter jets during the Vietnam War. But as the funds and concrete arrived before any contract was signed, Laos decided instead to build a memorial to soldiers who died in World War II.