› added 5 years ago

58

TIL about kyōtei - literally "Boat Race" - which is one of only four 'public sports' that you can legally bet on in Japan. It's been called "Japan's NASCAR". Competitors are randomly given a boat and motor and they then have a period of time where they can tune it.

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ZVYG TIL There is a cruise line that will start its very first around the world cruise that will last for 180 days starting in 2015.
6W4Q TIL French Queen Marie Antoinette had a fully functioning peasant village built on the grounds of Versailles. She loved strolling the village in simple shepherdess garb pretending to live a simple life milking cows or sheep, which were carefully maintained and cleaned by the servants.
D17Ej TIL Queen Elizabeth II was a big fan of Nintendo Wii. She saw her grandson playing and joined in. She was apparently a 'natural' at Wii Bowling.
Me7ya TIL half of the entire population of Australia lives in three cities Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. There are only 46 cities and towns in Australia with over 30,000 people.
DQLoV TIL that 3% to 15% of the human population have Arachnophobia (aka anywhere from 246 million to 1.2 billion out of the current 8.2 billion population)