› added 9 years ago

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TIL of Zimmerit, a putty-like coating containing sawdust which some German tanks in WWII were covered with in order to prevent magnetic mines from sticking to them.

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7gyZ TIL the tallest free-standing tower in the world, the Tokyo Sky Tree, had its final height chosen solely because of wordplay; several numbers were considered because of their alternate meanings, they ended up choosing 634m for “Musashi”
5YYmP TIL A World War II veteran reunited with his wartime girlfriend after losing contact for 72 years
glwX TIL that between 2003 and 2008, the US government spent over $15,000,000,000 on AIDS prevention in Africa, saving an estimated 1.1 million lives and reducing AIDS infection rates by 10%
BgakK TIL that a taphophile is an individual who has a passion for and enjoyment of cemeteries, epitaphs, gravestone rubbing, photography, art, and history of (famous) deaths.
R7vpl TIL Beethoven was once asked to an improvisational battle by a rival (Daniel Steibelt). During the duel, Beethoven took a piece of his rival's music, turned it upside-down, then improvised on that theme for over an hour. Steibelt left halfway through the performance.