› added 5 years ago

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TIL the Burke & Wills expedition of 1860, Australia’s own Lewis & Clarke. Burke, Wills and 17 others set off to cross Australia South-North, from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria, a 3250km journey one way. Both men died. Only one, an Irish soldier named John King completed the journey back.

OG6yY TIL that in 1985, a Yugoslavian farmer had a bottle inserted in his anus which broke and blamed it on two men of a minority group which gaine widespread coverage. Despite later testimony revealing that the wound was self-inflicted, the incident played a role in the future breakup of Yugoslavia.
PY5OV TIL After Richard Nixon’s landmark trip to China in 1972, the couple were gifted a pair of Pandas by then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai. This gift created a new sensation among Zoos, and Toy makers, even gracing Time magazine. In return, the U.S. government sent China a pair of musk oxen.
M7Y4b TIL that in 1940 the Germans conquered Denmark so quickly that the Danes didn't have time to formally declare war against them. They surrendered after 2 hours.
0w5by TIL In a study on lung cancer patients, 48% of subjects had quit smoking prior to diagnosis, usually easily, despite prior attempts. Lung cancer tumors secrete a substance that disrupts nicotine addiction, but the study was buried because scientists worried it would encourage people to keep smoking.
Ook5L TIL the Danish government permits adults and children to kill dolphins and whales with knives and lances at a public event on the Faroe Islands each year called “grindadrap.” They kill about 1,000 annually, or 1 whale or dolphin for every 50 Faroese people.