› added 9 months ago

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TIL the Three Gorges Dam in China slowed down the Earth’s rotation and shifted the pole positioning due to the 10 trillion gallons of reservoir water

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4Xevb TIL one reason why Greenland is considered the largest island and Australia is a continent not an island (even it fits the definition of an island to be entirely surrounded by water) is because Greenland is a part of the North American plate and Australia has its own separate tectonic plate.
6EvmX TIL that snakes have forked tongues to be able to smell in three dimensions. By picking up odours from slightly different locations they are able to tell the direction and source of the smell.
e0dXb TIL Thanks to a Swedish tax law regarding costumes, ABBA’s stage clothes were outlandishly-designed on purpose. As long as they were impractical for everyday wear, the group’s outfits were tax-deductible.
PYgmn TIL that on 5th May 1945, 5 days after Hitler's suicide, American and German soldiers fought together against the Nazi SS to free prominent French prisoners of war from Itter Castle. It is believed to be the only battle in the war in which Americans and Germans fought together as allies.
j6j8p TIL of Operation Border Stone, where Czechslovak secret police set up fake border crossings near West Germany to capture people trying to escape the communist nation. The police held fake "welcome" interviews and led the refugees into path where real police awaited for them.