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TIL: Runaway truck ramp are long, sand- or gravel-filled lanes connected to a steep downhill grade section of a main road, so large trucks or buses can stop safely, when they have brake problems, through kinetic energy.

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D1blY TIL that during the 50s til 70s the UK Foreign Office had a program of destroying or hiding files from its ex-colonies, as they gained independence, if they that could embarrass the UK government. This happened in over 20 countries and included documents pertaining to torture and racial biases.
R7ON6 TIL that platypuses lose their senses of sight, sound, and smell underwater, so they hunt prey using electroreception. Mechanoreceptors and electroreceptors in their bill allow them to use electrical impulses to locate objects in the deepest and darkest of waters.
KYE54 Today I learned about the 4 astronomer nuns who helped map nearly 500,000 stars in the late 1800s and early part of the 20th century. Emilia Ponzoni, Regina Colombo, Concetta Finardi and Luigia Panceri.
QJQKL TIL that the city of Hamburg in Germany has a total of 2,496 bridges, which is the most of any city in Europe and many more than cities like Venice, Amsterdam and Saint Petersburg. This has led to Hamburg being referred to as "the Venice of the North".
1lXr TIL: English Pirate/Privateer Sir Francis Drake captured Spanish galleon Cacafuego in 1579 with ease, by firing ‘Chain Shot’ (two cannonballs connected by a chain) at its mizzen mast, severing it completely.