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TIL Stanford University rejected 69% of the applicants with a perfect SAT score between 2008-2013.

Read more stanfordmag.org

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J1W1v TIL: GPS satellites don't ever actually interact with GPS devices at all. 31 US satellites simply broadcast their position non-stop and GPS devices triangulate their own position using the location of 3 "nearby" satellites.
7r64p TIL from 1968 to 1973, the British evicted the entire population of the Chagos islands to allow the United States to build a military base on Diego Garcia
86R4 TIL that in 1969 a writer committed suicide after failing to publish his novel. In 1981 said novel won a Pulitzer.
gMlRX TIL from 1983-85, there was a huge crash in the Video games industry. Market saturation was a factor, with too many competing consoles & games. Revenues went from $3.2 billion to $100 million, a 97% drop. Despite NES’s later success, the crash ended the 80’s generation of console gaming in the US.
GY88g TIL about the unusual phenomenon of "exploding trees." The trees explode when water in the tree's sap freezes. As the liquid hardens, it expands, eventually bursting the trees open emitting a gunshot-like pop. The exploding trees often bring down others with them, resulting in major damage.