› added 4 years ago

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TIL of Big Hill-a section of railway on the Canadian Pacific line that proved so difficult to climb, spiral-shaped tunnels had to be bored to reduce the slope to a safe grade.

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Wk9bA TIL that there are 400 known albino redwoods, which survive by getting sugar through roots of nearby trees.
BrWvb TIL apples in Tibet turn purple due to the lower temper and the higher UV light.(less UV is filtered out because of the thinner atmosphere) They’re called Black diamond apples.
wgNJ TIL the King of Jordan appeared in Star Trek.
Z4dR TIL that in 1847, a doctor performed an amputation in 25 seconds, operating so quickly that he accidentally amputated his assistant’s fingers as well. Both later died of sepsis, and a spectator reportedly died of shock, resulting in the only known procedure with a 300% mortality rate.
4XvVN TIL "Night Witches" were women that flew under the cover of darkness in bare-boned plywood biplanes to bomb the Nazis during WW2.