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TIL there were vacuum cleaners before electricity was common. They were manually pumped while vacuuming.

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j6bn TIL a scientist allowed 78 bees, wasps and ants sting him to produce a ‘pain index’. he described the bullet ant’s sting as like fire-walking over flaming charcoal with a 3-inch rusty nail grinding into your heel.
Y5L7 TIL killer whales that prey on other mammals enter ‘stealth mode’ when hunting, not making any sounds until the prey has been caught. Killer whales that prey on fish, however, continue to make noise at all points in their hunting since fish can’t hear the frequencies they use
JYwpv TIL Many PCs in the 80's and 90's had a "Turbo" button which actually made it run slower
9wY86 TIL in 1918, the German Army ordered a Jewish census of it's troops to prove that Jews avoided combat. Instead, the census proved the opposite that Jews were over-represented in fighting positions and in the army as a whole.
X0LGr TIL The Viet Minh signed a treaty to pay the French 5 billion francs after the Indochina War to buy the rights to the Tonkin collieries in North Vietnam. The sum was payable by means of coal shipments over 15 years.