› added 9 months ago

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TIL the Lincoln Highway (1910s) made driving across America easier. However, muddy or flooded roads were expected and drivers needed camping gear. The road guide included tips for each town. E.g. Fish Springs, Utah travelers could "build a sagebrush fire" for a local team to find/rescue them.

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via reddit.com

7rm0Z TIL Winnipeg's Portage and Main is considered the "most famous interesection in Canada". The downtown street is the widest of its kind due to its historic use as an ox cart trail. At its height, the muddy rut-rife passage through town was wide enough to accommodate up to 20 carts at once
ZDea TIL the Tsar Bomba, the single most physically powerful device ever used by mankind, caused windowpanes to be partially broken at distances of 900 kilometres (560 mi).
XE51D TIL spiked dog collars don't only "look cool", they originated from actual sharp spiked wolf collars used to protect shepherd dogs from wolf attaks.
wLNrJ TIL Lionel Tate is the youngest American ever sentenced to life without the possibility of parole at 13. It was overturned and he was given 1 yr house arrest and 10 yrs probation. At 18 he committed an armed robbery, he's now serving 30 yrs for violating parole and 10 yrs for armed robbery.
7Dpb TIL American Geochemist Clair Patterson helped reduce lead levels within the blood of Americans by approximately 80% by the late 90s, after spending decades of fighting the industrial use of lead.