› added 10 months ago

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TIL that the longest time anyone has been awake is 11 days. In 1965, a 17-year-old named Randy Gardner stayed awake for a science experiment, breaking the world record. By the end, he experienced hallucinations and memory lapses.

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9wPWQ TIL that 80% of Army personnel records of soldiers discharged from November 1, 1912 to January 1, 1960 were lost in a fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in 1973. No duplicate copies of these records were ever maintained, nor were microfilm copies produced.
OoVNg TIL emperor Wu of Jin (China) had so many concubines that he could not choose between them, he often rode his goat-driven carriage around the palace until the goats decided to stop. Because of this many of the women planted bamboo leaves and salt outside their bedrooms to attract the goats.
a6BA TIL that Turkey (which wants to join the EU) imprisons more journalists than China and Iran combined.
Raow TIL in 1930, Senators who didn’t like having to dial telephone numbers, wanted to ban dial telephones.
b697p TIL pro-segregationist Virginia politician Harry F. Byrd was a direct descendant of Pocahontas