› added 11 years ago

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TIL that because they die early, smokers save society roughly 32 cents for every pack they smoke. Some economists support a cigarette subsidy to save society money.

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VBXm0 TIL In 1629 the English seized almost all of France's territories in North America. The seizure became a legal issue because Quebec surrendered after the peace treaty was already signed, and ultimately the territories were returned in exchange for Louis XIII paying his wife's dowry.
Eg9J0 TIL The last two states to be added to the US were admitted in 1959, only 64 years ago. Many current members of congress were teenagers when the flag had 48 stars.
m11jO TIL of the Sydney Tar Ponds, an area in Sydney, Nova Scotia where a local steel mill was continuously pouring over 750,000 tons of sludge and toxic chemicals into the area for over 100 years. The $400m cleanup finished by burying the sludge in concrete and turning it into a local park.
mx6ZY TIL there are more than 200 million insects for each human on the planet. In other words, the world holds 300 pounds of insects for every pound of humans.
lgo5 TIL in 2007 a woman who only occasionally played an old game boy (for which Tetris was the only game she owned) on long car rides and plane flights broke the world record by 500 lines.