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TIL the only reason to add salt to water for cooking pasta is to add flavor. It would take 15 tablespoons of salt to raise the boiling temperature of 1L of water by 2 degrees.

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gMnmL TIL that Benjamin Franklin predicted the time of death of a fellow almanac publisher in his own almanac. When the date came and passed with nothing happening, Franklin published the obituary anyway, and insisted that the still-alive man was actually being impersonated by someone else.
p8QeO TIL that Shelby Cobras only weigh 2355lbs despite having a 7.0l V8
VnyD TIL that the -pter in “helicopter” and “pterodactyl” are from the same Greek word “pteron” meaning ‘wing’
VBWvk TIL that when Judge Alton B. Parker was offered the nomination for President in 1904 by party elders, he gave such a bland speech about foreign policy that even his own supporters were uninspired. After the speech, Parker decided to stay silent and not to comment on the major issues.
GyQ4 TIL that Dave Grohl has been the drummer on every Tenacious D album and is considered a member of the band.