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TIL by 400 BC, Persian engineers had mastered the technique of storing ice in the middle of summer in the desert.

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8D1b TIL in World War II, British soldiers were given a ration of only 3 sheets of toilet paper per day. American soldiers received 22.
LkGJ0 TIL The 18th century “Old Grapevine Tavern” in New York City was a popular hangout of Union officers and Confederate spies. Lawyers, politicians, actors, and artists would meet there. It was the ideal place to spread rumors & gossip, leading to the popular phrase “heard it through the grapevine”.
6nlw TIL that Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang was not allowed to bring reindeer jerky with him on board a shuttle mission as it was “weird” for the Americans so soon before Christmas. He had to go with moose instead.
Y9kd TIL in 1991 a fake Russian TV program convinced many citizens that Lenin consumed a lot of psychedelic mushrooms, eventually even becoming a mushroom himself. The Leningrad Communist Party responded that “Lenin could not have been a mushroom” because “a mammal can not be a plant”
GYg4E TIL that the 1st overall draft pick in the inaugural NFL draft ultimately decided not to play in the NFL, rejecting offers from two teams, to ultimately work for a rubber company