› added 4 years ago

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TIL: Australian possums are more closely related to kangaroos than to North American possums.

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via reddit.com

ekZg TIL The US Navy was researching ways to chill a can of soda in 10 seconds
mvPR TIL Monsanto Managers discovered that fish submerged in a creek near one of their chemical facilities in Anniston, Alabama turned belly-up within 10 seconds, spurting blood and shedding skin as if dunked into boiling water. They told no one. They hid the pollution caused by PCBs for decades.
RBw8 TIL that when the Confederate Army was low on gunpowder, bat caves were raided for poop. Bat guano’s high nitrate content provided a key ingredient for the production of gunpowder.
kJJZ4 TIL The first military plane ever was used in 1909 and had 40 hp.
VMleZ TIL White Castle became popular because of public reaction to Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle”. To make sure that customers thought their food was clean, the buildings were painted completely white, the interiors were made of stainless steel, and the employees all wore spotless uniforms