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TIL in 1903, two men and a pit bull made the first documented journey by automobile from San Francisco to New York using only a connection of dirt roads, cow paths, and railroad beds. The journey took 63 days, became a national sensation, and called for a system of long distance roads.

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x6e9B TIL all British main battle tanks are equipped with a "boiling vessel", a water heater which the crew can use to boil hot water and heat meals. Introduced at the end of WW2, it is often referred to by tank crews as "the most important piece of equipment in a British armoured vehicle".
GYwnj TIL that the etymological history of the word 'Slavs" stems from the Middle English word "sclave" which means slaves given that medieval Slavs were routinely captured and enslaved during wars in the Middle Ages.
OovnX TIL: The character of Ian Malcolm in "Jurassic Park" was nearly written out of the script. The writers planned to combine him with the character of Dr. Grant, but Jeff Goldblum wanted to be in a Steven Spielberg movie and asked Spielberg to keep the character.
d8y89 TIL that Christian buildings are the only religious buildings on the continent of Antarctica. Although they are used mostly for Christian worship, the Chapel of the Snows has also been used for Buddhist and Bahá'í ceremonies.
KYYmE TIL that the Farallon Islands, off the coast of San Francisco, California, has the highest rodent density of any island in the world, with over a thousand mice per acre. Visitors to the islands can, at times, see the ground moving when the mice are burrowing their underground tunnels.