› added 6 years ago

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TIL Antarctica has a fire department because fire poses a serious threat to the researchers there. Antartica is dry, windy, and doesn't have a lot of liquid water to douse the flame with.

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R7rJa TIL that in 2015, Prince voiced his dislike of record labels saying "Record contracts are just like — I'm gonna say the word – slavery." He concluded "I would tell any young artist ... don't sign." At the time he advocated seeing artists paid directly from streaming services, cutting out middlemen.
6EVYY TIL that in 2005 Agostino Vespucci's notes were found, written in 1503, revealing that Leonardo Da Vinci was busy painting a "half-length portrait painting of Lisa del Giocondo", Mona Lisa.
0wKAM TIL: There is a Canadian island called Devon Island, which is largest uninhabited island in the world and it is used to simulate Mars like environment by scientist because of its uncanny similarity with Martian surface .
gMnmL TIL that Benjamin Franklin predicted the time of death of a fellow almanac publisher in his own almanac. When the date came and passed with nothing happening, Franklin published the obituary anyway, and insisted that the still-alive man was actually being impersonated by someone else.
E1r60 TIL The Portuguese military was born from the Templar Knights. King Dinis offered refuge when they were exterminated. Later, Queen Maria secularized them, and when the monarchy was abolished the grand master became the first president. Today, the order is awarded to valiant soldiers.