› added 8 years ago

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TIL that the US and UK directly interfered with Australian independence, effectively eliminating George Withlam, an advocate who opposed nuclear testing who was democratically elected, with a political coup to install John Kerr in 1975.

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BrBjL TIL in Soviet Russia North, at mornings drivers made a fire under engines their trucks for about two hours, before starting the engine. There were two options: never cut off the engine and run it 24/7 or make a fire. Otherwise, oil would freeze.
Vd4G TIL that during production of the notoriously convoluted 1946 noir classic The Big Sleep, neither the director nor the screenwriters knew if a character was supposed to have commit suicide or been murdered, so they contacted the book’s author, Raymond Chandler, and he didn’t know either.
JYDYB TIL about The Birthday Paradox. In a room of just 23 people, there’s a 50-50 chance of at least two people having the same birthday. In a room of 75, there’s a 99.9% chance of at least two people matching.
6EORW TIL Marlon Brandon was in the Civil Rights movement throughout his career, and later advocated for the rights of indigenous Americans. His outspoken activism, in the midst of the harshly segregated '60s, earned him a reserved place near the podium of Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 "I Have a Dream"
yQyya TIL around 1980 a man named Denis Hope have sold plots of land on the moon to notable people like Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Barbara Walters and even former president George H.W Bush, he claims the UN outer space treaty doesn't negate an individual claiming ownership for the moon.