› added 5 years ago

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TIL the Karen conflict is one of the world's "longest running civil wars", so far lasting 71 years.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

jNAOj TIL about Sam Ballard, a 29 year old Aussie who died 8 years after eating a slug on a dare. The slug carried rat lungworm, a rare parasite that can penetrate the intestine, traverse the nervous system, and burrow into the brain’s outer lining. While most infected recover, the parasite can be fatal.
dDvlK TIL that the robot "ASIMO," developed by Honda, was first introduced in 2000 and was capable of walking, running, climbing stairs, and even dancing. ASIMO was designed to assist people with mobility impairments and perform a range of tasks to demonstrate advanced robotics technology.
wL1Q6 TIL The battleship Imperator Aleksandr III was built by Imperial Russia, taken by Provisional Russia, given to Germany, given to Britain, given to White Russians, and then sold for scrap by the French. The ship guns were then sold to the Finns, stolen by Nazis, and returned to Russia after WW2.
b91mQ TIL roller coasters use three sets of wheels to keep the trains on the track. Running wheels which are on top of the rails, side friction wheels which are on the side of the rails, and up-stop wheels which are under the rails. This is why inversions and negative-g moments are possible.
X0rOk TIL "November Rain" by Guns N' Roses was the longest song ever to reach the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 until November 2021, when surpassed by Taylor Swift's extended rerecording of "All Too Well".