› added 5 years ago

65

TIL about Pumped-Storage Hydroelectricity, in which thousands of gallons of water are pumped to a reservoir at a higher elevation using off-peak electricity, then released to turn turbines and produce electricity at a later date. It's a non-chemical form of battery.

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j6ROj TIL that the play that Abraham Lincoln was attending when John Wilkes Booth was assassinated was called "Our American Cousin", a widely-popular comedy. Booth timed his shooting with the play's funniest moment to hide the sound of the shot.
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W19 TIL in WWII, both Allied and Axis forces, specifically pilots, were known to be methamphetamine users, so much so that it was nicknamed “Pilot’s Salt”.
M7Qw0 TIL that there are tanker ships out there that only transport fruit juice
N7P11 TIL the penalty for treason against the United States is death, and is defined as giving enemies “aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere”