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TIL in 1896, Bill Crush orchestrated the spectacle of smashing two trains into each other completely on purpose. Although no one was within 200 yards of the impact, the explosion from the steam engines killed two spectators and injured more. The event was considered a big PR and financial success.

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lolQN TIL Douglas Adams worked on Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy while writing for Doctor Who, and later turned a rejected Doctor Who story into the third Hitchhiker’s book.
nVW9 TIL that in 2009, if the total wealth of American citizens was distributed evenly to every person, everyone’s annual income would be approximately $177,700.
Z8XNv TIL that the earth will become inhospitable to life in 2 - 3 billion years as the sun increases in temperature, pushing the habitable Goldilocks zone to Mars or beyond.
pYD5Q TIL that there is one remaining glacier on the Indonesian side of Papua, due to its very high elevation despite being on the equator.
xg95 TIL on 5 March 1945, a Gurkha soldier in the British army calmly stood up in open sight and killed a sniper pinning down his company before going on to clear 5 enemy bunkers, single-handedly, all whilst under heavy fire.