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TIL a 40 acre Montana fire was caused by a hawk landing on power lines while clutching a large snake. The wriggling snake touched a second power line, completing the circuit and electrocuting both animals with up to 700,000 volts.

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MeOlW TIL little league sports were originally organized to keep poor kids off the streets but the Depression caused leagues to close down so poor children from urban areas lost opportunities for competitive athletics. Fee-based groups filled the void but only upper class kids could afford them.
mxXlv TIL that the story about Ossip Bernstein playing chess to escape a bolshevik firing squad has only 1 source: Ossip himself - who first told the story to a friend after having fled to the UK.
Wk1X TIL before the Hubble Space Telescope was launched scientists were convinced the Universe was no longer expanding. Not only is the Universe still expanding but at a rate of 74 kilometers (48 miles) per second.
d8YmZ TIL that only specific types of sand are useful in important building materials like concrete. This has creates a shortage of sand in some areas leading to black markets for illegally mined sand run by sand mafias and sand pirates.
lg4K TIL of the 1986 Lake Nyos disaster which belched out trapped Carbon Dioxide from its bottom in effervescence suffocating every living animal within a 16 mile radius incl. 1700 villagers and 3500 livestock. The blue lake turned deep red from oxidization and water levels dropped by a meter.