› added 7 months ago

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TIL that the Michelin Man is white because tires were typically white, beige, or grey when the mascot was created in 1894. In 1912 tire manufacturers started adding carbon to their tires which gave them a black colour that is known today.

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nbY7 TIL: King Cadwaladr of Gwynedd once ordered his men to put leeks on their helmets to identify themselves in a battle against the Saxons. To this day, the Leek is the national symbol of Wales
wLEXW TIL that after being shot in the frontal lobe during WWI, a Hungarian man named Paul Kern became unable to fall asleep. Baffling doctors, he did not present any other symptom other than his inability to sleep and an occasional headache. He went on to live a full, sleepless life.
BNPk TIL That Paul Simon listed the time length of “Fakin’ It” as 2:74 because radio stations didn’t want to play something over 3 minutes long
9w6Pr TIL that Africa's average population is the youngest amongst all continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median was 30.4.
1abAr TIL Stalin sent most of his qualified doctors to the gulag, a move which inevitably came back to bite him in the ass when he had a stroke from which he later died.