TIL a Boeing 747 uses ~4 litres (~1 gallon) of fuel every second
https://www.flightdeckfriend.com/ask-a-pilot/how-much-fuel-does-a-jumbo-jet-burn/#:~:text=The%20four%20engines%20of%20the,of%20about%207%2C790%20nautical%20miles.
https://redd.it/1gskvah
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TIL that during WWII a German catholic priest was arrested and executed for telling a joke about Hitler
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_M%C3%BCller_(priest)?wprov=sfti1#Life
https://redd.it/1gsoa1a
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TIL Malcolm X, while serving a prison sentence in his early 20s, spent his time reading the dictionary and copying its pages to improve his vocabulary. This practice not only expanded his knowledge but also transformed him into one of the most articulate civil rights leaders.
https://www.massmoments.org/moment-details/malcolm-x-imprisoned.html
https://redd.it/1gsv2jb
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TIL ecologists once thought Beaver dam-building was an amazing feat of planning, indicative of the high intellect. This was tested when a recording of running water was played in a field near a beaver pond. Although on dry land, the beaver covered the tape player with branches and mud.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_beaver
https://redd.it/1gsowgh
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TIL the McLaren F1 is so valuable now, that it is essentially impossible for one to be "written off" by an insurance company, since the repair costs will always be less than the value of the car. Furthermore, McLaren will fully repair a crashed F1, no matter how substantial the damage.
https://www.motorbiscuit.com/basically-impossible-to-total-a-mclaren-f1/
https://redd.it/1gstirf
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TIL in 2012, over 2,000 Koreans gathered to watch a single man pitch a tent (a 24-man army tent) after he claimed on an internet forum that he could do it in under two hours. The event grew so large it even attracted corporate sponsers. The man succeeded, taking about an hour to accomplish the task.
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2024/11/137_119939.html
https://redd.it/1gsa9f2
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TIL that in Mike Tyson’s last professional boxing match to date, he faced the 6ft 6 Kevin McBride. Tyson would attempt to break McBride’s arm, before being shoved to the floor by McBride and then eventually quitting on his stool, just before the 7th round.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Tyson_vs._Kevin_McBride
https://redd.it/1grpeaq
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TIL the phrase "neither rhyme nor reason" is from Edmund Spenser. Elizabeth I told her treasurer to pay Spenser "what is reason." Edmund wasn't paid, and wrote "I was promis'd on a time,\To have a reason for my rhyme:\From that time unto this season,\I receiv'd nor rhyme nor reason." He got paid.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Spenser
https://redd.it/1gs0gr1
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TIL: That Princess Diana was buried holding a set of rosary beads that were gifted to her by Mother Teresa, who died just 6 days after Diana at the age of 87.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funeral_of_Diana,_Princess_of_Wales
https://redd.it/1gs5707
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TIL David Letterman once insulted Quentin Tarantino on his show, which made Tarantino call Letterman on the phone and threaten to come to NY to “kill” him. Letterman responded by offering to pay for his flight and have QT choose the method of battle. Tarantino agreed and chose “bats.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quentin_Tarantino
https://redd.it/1gs4dxu
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TIL about the fast food chain "Rax Roast Beef" which at one time operated a peak of 504 locations in the US in the 1980's, but due to continuous changes in its business model and shifting focus away from its core clientele eventually declined to just 8 locations today.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rax_Roast_Beef
https://redd.it/1gr6c1g
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TIL Batman’s fascination for and attraction to bats is due to a unique psychological response to fear and anxiety called a“counterphobic attitude” which involves a person actively seeking out the sources of the things that frighten them in the hope of overcoming their fears and becoming stronger.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterphobic_attitude
https://redd.it/1gr6a05
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TIL that the only time when more than half of the American public believed that the Apollo space program was worth the expense came at the time of the Apollo 11 lunar landing in 1969. Even then it only received 53% approval.
https://www.space.com/10601-apollo-moon-program-public-support-myth.html
https://redd.it/1gr7wl9
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TIL that the United States has 44 four-star generals right now whereas in WWII there were just seven.
https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Media/News/News-Article-View/Article/1325984/are-there-too-many-general-officers-for-todays-military/
https://redd.it/1grbsas
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TIL that rhinoceros mating can be brutal. First the males fight for dominance. Then the female chases the male. This is called a "bluff and bluster" ritual, & lasts hours. It often becomes violent, with wrestling and fighting. Sometimes it can even lead to death.
https://tsavotrust.org/how-do-rhinos-mate/
https://redd.it/1gqknhn
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TIL That the world record for internet speed is 402 terabits per second which would enable you to download 12500 movies in 1 second. This is approximately 4.3m times faster than the global average of 93mbps.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/six-million-times-faster-a-new-internet-speed-record-and-how-australia-compares/3ezzqj0ve
https://redd.it/1gsm7qc
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TIL In the 1990's, the British Police tried to ban the Lotus Carlton and the government condemned advertising of the vehicle. It could reach 176mph and Police vehicles at the time could not keep up during a pursuit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Carlton#Reception
https://redd.it/1gsrpgm
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TIL In 2018, a restaurant in Maine started sedating their lobsters with marijuana smoke, saying it gave them a humane death.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-45586131
https://redd.it/1gsvqqq
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TIL in 2006, Scott Stapp of Creed filed a lawsuit to block the release of a sex video involving himself, Kid Rock, and four women. The suit was settled with the defendant agreeing to pay Stapp an undisclosed sum and to refrain from distributing the video.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Stapp?wprov=sfti1#Legal_and_personal_troubles
https://redd.it/1gsscmz
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TIL of 'Joe Martin', a captive orangutan actor that starred in over 50 silent era films, and for years lived essentially as a free human, wearing clothes, having it's own keys to come and go, attending film premieres and trusted to work with many children. Eventually it attacked many people...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Martin_(orangutan)
https://redd.it/1grlsyv
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TIL of Kurt Gerstein, a Nazi officer who tried to alert the world of the Holocaust while it was happening by sending detailed reports to Swedish, Swiss, Dutch and Catholic officials. These were largely ineffective and he died by suicide in 1945
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Gerstein
https://redd.it/1gs96qw
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TIL Neptune is not blue in colour, instead it's pale greenish-blue, as is Uranus. The original photos of Neptune taken by Voyager 2 in 1980s had been enhanced to highlight it's atmospheric features. Over time the captions of this changes were left out and blue became the defining colour of Neptune.
https://www.universetoday.com/165118/uranus-and-neptune-are-actually-pretty-much-the-same-color/
https://redd.it/1gruyj7
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TIL that Randy Weaver was awarded $3.1 million over the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Weaver
https://redd.it/1gs3kvq
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TIL: The federal government is by far the largest employer of veterans in the United States
https://www.militarymoney.com/veterans/jobs/veteran-friendly-employers/#:~:text=As%20you%20might%20expect%2C%20government,others:%20manufacturing%20and%20business%20services.
https://redd.it/1grx6k7
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TIL of the "Casu martzu" - a sardinian fermented sheep cheese that has live maggots in it. It's considered unsafe to eat if the maggots have died, and is served alongside strong red wine. The larvae in the cheese can launch themselves distances up to 15 centimetres when disturbed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casu_martzu
https://redd.it/1grdb9a
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TIL k-pop phenomenon only happened because Jurassic Park. In early 90s, Korean Government officials issued a report for the president stating the movie revenue was almost equivalent of exporting 1.5 Million Hyundai cars. As a response, the government invested a lot of money in cultural industry.
https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/45761?show=full
https://redd.it/1gr9lo2
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TIL that in Romania in 1999, a man and a woman died of carbon monoxide poisoning while having sex in a car parked in a garage with the engine running and won the 1999 Darwin Award.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_during_consensual_sex
https://redd.it/1gretal
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TIL that KFC’s handwritten recipe is stored in a safe within a vault at KFC’s Louisville headquarters. To maintain confidentiality, KFC employs two separate suppliers: one blends part of the recipe, and the other completes it, ensuring no single entity has access to the entire formulation. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KFC
https://redd.it/1grbqd7
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TIL that the Spice Girls co-wrote all their own songs. When they left their original management, they allegedly stole the masters of their recordings from the management office to make sure they retained creative control of their work.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spice_Girls
https://redd.it/1grb832
@r_til
TIL what we call a 9-to-5 workday, Chinese people have "996," which means they have to work from 9am to 9pm 6 days a week.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-66172192
https://redd.it/1gq6q20
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