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TIL Historian Allan Lichtman, inspired by a discussion with a geophysicist about earthquakes, developed a system that has allowed him to correctly predicted the winner of every presidential election since 1984 using a series of 13 true or false statements or "13 keys to the White House".

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e0wJb TIL the Aquatic Ape Theory suggests that early hominids lived in water part of the time and accounts for our hairless bodies (streamlined for swimming) our upright, two-legged walking (made wading easier) & our layers of subcutaneous fat, which made us better insulated in water (think whale blubber)
awepb TIL most of the consumer standards like car seatbelt length, AC temperature sensitivities, phone sizes, crash-test dummies etc. are all dimensioned with reference to average men size. Due to this a woman involved in a car crash is 47% more likely to be seriously injured and 17% more likely to die.
Z8Q5p TIL about project Orion, a project to develop a spaceship propelled by nuclear explosions. The project was abandoned due to a treaty that forbid nuclear weapon tests in the atmosphere, in outer space and under water.
eVoD TIL Dave Chappelle based his character Clayton Bigsby (the black white supremacist) on his own blind grandfather.
JYGRl TIL: Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national symbol, as he felt that eagles represented a "bad moral character" as they steal fish from hawks and were too lazy to catch fish themselves. He stated that turkeys native to America and a "bird of courage" as opposed to a "rank coward".