› added 5 months ago

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TIL: Llívia, a Spanish town with 1,511 residents, is entirely surrounded by France. This unique status stems from the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees, which ceded 33 villages in the Cerdanya region to France. However, Llívia was classified as a ‘town’ rather than a ‘village’ leaving it as part of Spain.

6lLw TIL CIA created a gun that could shoot darts that caused heart attack. Upon penetration of skin the dart left just a tiny red dot. The poison itself worked rapidly and denatured quickly afterwards. It was revealed in 1975 in a Congressional testimony.
DQ9gr TIL Depending on the type, contact lenses can last anywhere from a day to a week or two to a few months
4XvBw TIL Humans are not the only animal that likes to get drunk. Australian parrots have discovered that sugar spilt from cane trucks and wet by dew overnight can rapidly ferment in the Sun, providing free booze.
lod9a TIL about Benford's law: if you take natural sets of numbers (like lenghts of rivers, population of cities, financial transactions..), probability of first number is not even. There is 30% probability for number to start with 1, and only to 5% for 9. It is so reliable it is used to defect fraud!
xV6dw TIL When Creed from The Office sings karaoke in A Benihana Christmas. He is singing a hit song, "Spinnin' and Reelin,'" that the actor, also named Creed Bratton, wrote and performed in the 60s. His band The Grass Roots had several other hits in the 60s and 70s.