› added 8 years ago

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TIL in 1963, at the height of the Cold War, the US military launched a ring of 480million needles into orbit around the earth. It was hoped they would more reliably bounce radio signals back to earth in case the Soviets cut through undersea cables. Multiple clumps of these needles are still up there

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vp1D TIL that, according to a 2007 study by the University of Southern Denmark, the secret to happiness is to have low expectations of life.
pOyG TIL that more Portuguese live in Luxembourg than Germans, Belgians and French combined
b9RBa TIL that, in 1846, planet Neptune's exact location was predicted by three astronomers studying the eccentric orbits of several distant asteroids. The data hinted at the presence of a giant, distant planet. Neptune was found on the very first night, only 1° off its predicted position.
vLXR TIL Canada is so big that Cape Spear, Newfoundland is closer to London than to Vancouver.
D18eV TIL In Europe during the Middle Ages nuns had an allowance of six pints of ale each day