› added 11 years ago

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TIL Teens in the United States and Europe have similar levels of sexual activity. However, European teens are more likely than U.S. teens to use contraceptives generally and to use the most effective methods; they therefore have substantially lower pregnancy rates.

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69wMW TIL: The Statue of Liberty's copper skin is incredibly thin, only 3/32 of an inch thick. The copper weighs 60,000 lbs, but the entire 450,000 lb statue is held up by a separate, flexible iron framework designed by Gustave Eiffel, the same engineer who designed the Eiffel Tower.
xVdQb TIL of the ‘Window Tax’, where people were taxed based on the number of windows they had on their houses. This was used in the 18th century as a simple method to calculate tax obligations. However, many people bricked up their windows, leading to health problems.
pj7G TIL that before the invention of postage stamps, the recipient of a letter or package had to pay the postage when they received it, effectively buying their incoming mail from the postal service
grXG9 TIL Robert Chesebrough promoted his petroleum jelly by giving away free samples, making him one of the first to do so. Chesebrough would also show his product's effectiveness by cutting and burning himself then apply petroleum jelly to treat the wound in front of an audience.
VBdrp TIL about the 1956 “Battle of Palmdale” an effort by the US Air Force to destroy an out of control target drone. Two jets fired 208 rockets at the propeller driven drone. Every one missed the target, started fires that burned 1000 acres, damaged homes and destroyed a pickup truck.