› added 4 years ago

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TIL that during World War 2, the US implemented a nationwide "Victory Speed Limit" of 35 mph to conserve gasoline and rubber for the war effort.

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N7wZM TIL of John Corcoran, a teacher who taught for 17 years while being illiterate. He struggled in the 6th grade and never learned to read or write, and cheated his way through college. At the age of 47, he finally learned when he was inspired by Barbara Bush advocating for adult literacy.
M7G1A TIL a board game entitled "The Campaign for North Africa" has been calculated to require up to 1,500 hours to complete.
NXXMP TIL that during the US invasion of Grenada in 1983 soldiers had to rely on tourist maps with grid lines hand-drawn on them, and use copies of The Economist magazine for intelligence as the invasion was ordered on such short notice.
arLN TIL that, because of the wide use of plastics and polyurethane foam in modern furnishings, house fires today spread 8 times faster than they did 40 years ago.
mXRE TIL there is a Seed Vault that protects seeds from all sorts of natural and man-made disasters; essentially a food insurance policy in case the world goes to hell.