› added 3 years ago

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TIL about the Chinese town of Qiaotou, the 'button capital of the world'. Around 60% of the world's supply of clothing buttons are produced there, as well as 80% of the world's zippers

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via reddit.com

rD91 TIL that the Solar System’s stability is temporary, and in a few billion years, we might collide with Mars.
x6Jj1 TIL the oil behind poison ivy, urushiol, can also be cured and turned into a fine lacquer used in Asian decor
0wOo5 TIL a 13-yr study analyzing 17,000 traffic deaths in 12 cities found that cities that had protected bike lanes with physical barriers between bikes & motorized traffic had 44% fewer overall traffic deaths than the average city without them. But painted line bike lanes had no improvement on safety.
4kNLX TIL, Colonel Neel Kearby, an American fighter pilot during WW2 who was credited in destroying 22 enemy aircraft and received the Medal of Honor, was shot down and killed on March 5, 1944. All of his three children died in aircraft accidents in the US in the 1970s.
DQoyv TIL that "Ghost Marriage" is a Chinese tradition involving the marriage ceremony of one or both deceased individuals.