› added 11 years ago

262

TIL that smokers actually cost society LESS in healthcare dollars, due to earlier average age of death.

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5ddn TIL humans are bioluminescent. However, the light emitted by the body is 1000 times weaker than our eyes can pick up.
eg7D TIL that the red-tailed hawk’s screech is commonly dubbed over the bald eagle’s in television and movies.
9GXM TIL Los Angeles and its suburbs, home to 19 million people, is the only megacity in the world where mountain lions live side by side with humans.
DQodj TIL The M-497 Black Beetle was an experimental jet-powered railcar test bed of the NY Central Railroad, developed and tested in 1966 in the USA. Even with this spectacular performance, and being built relatively cheaply using existing parts, the project wasn't considered viable commercially.
OoQEe TIL about Larry Walters, who dreamed of flying since he was a child. He was going to join the air force but his poor eyesight disqualified him. On July 2, 1982 he built a homemade airship out of a patio chair and 45 helium balloons and flew for nearly an hour, reaching an altitude of 16,000 feet.