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TIL The mile was originally 5000 feet, until Parliament changed it in 1592 to match up with eight furlongs.

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nerXd TIL The Triangle is theoretically an instrument of indefinite pitch, for its fundamental pitch is obscured by its nonharmonic overtones. Triangle parts in classical music can be very demanding and "the triangle is by no means a simple instrument to play"
MeLam TIL that J.K. Rowling wrote a real person into The Goblet of Fire. The girl was named Natalie McDonald, a Harry Potter fan who was dying of leukaemia while Rowling was still writing the book. You see her character as a first-year who dons the sorting hat and is sorted into Gryffindor.
kJLbm TIL that Henry "Hap" Arnold, who became the first US General of the Airforce in 1949, was taught to fly by the Wright brothers
9AJp TIL that, besides Antarctica, there is a place on earth that is not claimed by any country
Zp48a TIL the US Army developed a nuclear warhead recoilless rifle and mounted it to a jeep