› added 12 years ago

92

TIL That estimates suggest that 40% of all humans to have ever existed have not lived beyond their first birthday.

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6EGV7 TIL Medals from 2016 Rio Olympic Games are defective and show rusting, chipping
R7XQ9 TIL the average freight train is about 1 to 1¼ miles in length (90 to 120 rail cars). When it's moving at 55 miles an hour, it can take a mile or more to stop after the locomotive engineer fully applies the emergency brake.
LQmJV TIL actor Omar Sharif helped popularize the card game bridge via new technologies and big stakes, and was once one of the world’s top players. In 2000, he stopped, stating his passion had become an addiction.
7DXM TIL A civilian guard was first posted at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in 1925 in part to stop families from picnicking on the flat marble slab with views of the city. A military guard was first posted in 1926.
DQGBY TIL a 1970's startup tried to design a flying car by attaching Cessna wings to a Ford Pinto. After a test pilot was forced to land early, a second test flight was conducted on Sept 11, 1973, by the startup's two founders themselves, both of whom were killed in the fiery crash that followed.