› added 4 years ago

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TIL Ball lightning is weird, actually real and deadly. The strange phenomenon of ball lightning appears during thunderstorms and has been known to break through windows, with nasty results.

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via reddit.com

v100K TIL that there was a proposed state called West Kansas that would have consisted of nine southwestern Kansan counties.
LKMP TIL in 1979 Jimmy Carter installed solar panels on the White House, saying, “In the year 2000 this solar water heater… can either be a curiosity, a museum piece, or can be a part of one of the greatest adventures ever undertaken by the American people.” They are now in a museum in China.
5Rg8 TIL that slaves were forbidden from owning drums, as they were used to communicate. New Orleans was the only city where slaves could legally own them. Hundreds of slaves were allowed to gather each Sunday to trade, sing, dance, and play music. This led to the birth of Jazz.
mxQJP TIL that the individual who essentially invented the U bend, the pipe shape in almost all modern toilets, was named Thomas Crapper.
wKG6 TIL ‘Scot’ is a Old English word meaning 'tax’. To say that someone got off 'scot free’ means they avoided a tax they were expected to pay.