› added 8 years ago

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TIL “jaywalking” became a crime in the US thanks in part to campaigns by the automotive industry. In the wake of increased pedestrian deaths, they wanted to shift the blame for road accidents from automobile drivers to pedestrians.

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pYGOG TIL the antibiotics used to treat the sex disease chlamydia can't be used in koala bears because the delicate balance of gut bacteria necessary to digest eucalyptus leaves becomes compromised
8e1wZ TIL Samuel J. Tilden, Governor of New York from 1875 to 1876 and the 1876 Democratic nominee, was a lifelong bachelor and once disclosed to a friend that he never slept with a woman before
jN4RN TIL that the Canadian province of Alberta has an entire hotline dedicated for rat sightings and ensuring the province remains rat-free.
1ay77 TIL: The first recorded usage of BC/AD years was in the year 525 AD
oMjR TIL we often suffer from the illusion of transparency; we assume our emotions are more apparent to others than they really are. In experiments participants generally think others can tell they are nervous when giving a speech, but usually the observers are less aware of their anxiety than expected.