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TIL The amount of solar energy reaching the surface of Earth is so vast that in one year it is about twice as much as will ever be obtained from all of the Earth's non-renewable resources of coal, oil, natural gas, and mined uranium combined

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Rwwl TIL a guy named Jon Postel once hijacked the Internet, causing all domain name controls to be transferred to his computer.
JYXn8 TIL The "Never argue with a fool" quote lacks proof crediting it to Mark Twain. The oldest suspected source is biblical proverbs 26:4 and 26:5: "Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Or you will also be like him. Answer a fool as his folly deserves, That he not be wise in his own eyes."
nenDB TIL that most Huskies in the US are descended from the sled dog team that completed the most grueling part of the 1925 Great Race of Mercy. They saved many children's lives by transporting diphtheria antitoxin when no one else could. Afterwards, the team was sold to a kennel in Poland Spring, ME.
jdnQ TIL that pencils are yellow because, in the 1890’s, the world’s best pencil graphite came from China. In China, the color yellow is associated with royalty, so American pencil manufacturers started painting their pencils yellow to indicate they contained high-quality Chinese graphite.
gMmGA TIL of the actions of Bob Hawke and Michel Rocard. Because of them, Antarctica has been protected from all drilling and mining since 1991. This protection banned these practices for fifty years, establishing Antarctica as a "natural reserve, devoted to peace and science."