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TIL that when Mart Laar became Prime-Minister of Estonia at age 33, the only economics book he had read was Milton Friedman’s “Free to Choose.” He said that it sounded good to him, “so we went ahead and did it.” Estonia now has the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the EU.

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J1nQk TIL on January 23, 1556 a massive earthquake, measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale, struck Shaanxi, China, killing over 850,000 people. This is the most devastating earthquake in recorded history.
LkLb9 TIL Dandelions are not indigenous to North America and were introduced by European settlers
R7o4l TIL in 2015, an American teen chose to commit suicide by snake bite. Sitting in his car, he allowed his pet Cobra to bite him multiple times. He was found in his car having suffered cardiac arrest, the snake had escaped and was later found on a nearby road.
nWvb7 TIL of the MARAUDER program, an experimental plasma railgun system that shot lightning balls with "devastating thermal and mechanical shock." It was also said to emit a strong EMP to scramble electronics. It became classified in 1993, with few references to it since.
9aQr TIL: Approximately 10,000 attended the funeral of Hawaiian musician, Israel Kamakawiwoʻole.