› added 8 months ago

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TIL of the Republic of Chad, which is the fifth-largest country in Africa and the twentieth largest nation by area in the world.

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via reddit.com

KYYPQ TIL about the almost completely unknown story of Félicette, a stray Parisian cat who was the only cat successfully launched into space - only to be euthanased weeks after
kJkwm TIL that Peterborough, ON, Canada has the highest hydraulic liftlock in the world AND was the first city in Canada to use electric streetlights
ne9NY TIL that in 1452 a Hungarian engineer, known as Orban, offered to sell an extremely powerful cannon to the Roman Emperor. He refused, so Orban instead sold the cannon to the Ottoman emperor, who used it to breach the walls of Constantinople in 1453, which brought the end to the Roman Empire
J1Qbk TIL about the Italian Futurist Cooking movement, which rejected pasta and had diners sit inside a mock airplane with vibrating engines to stimulate their appetites
yVb5a TIL that Subbotnik is a day in Russia when people in many cities volunteer to clean the streets, a tradition that began after the Russian Revolution and persists today.