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TIL That in 1774 James Cook charted Sandy Island off the coast of New Caledonia. Despite its' inclusion in official maps and charts for over two centuries in 2012 an Australian survey vessel proved the island had never actually existed and may have been a 'pumice raft' floating in the area.

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plpN TIL that because of a US State Department error, Richard Nixon believed that the Mauritian prime minister was from Mauretania. Confusion resulted as Nixon asked the leader of a jungle country and American ally about desert farming and the importance of restoring diplomatic relations with the US.
d8oaj TIL that even though seed-bearing plants evolved ~360 million years ago, all plants that bare flowers or fruits have only existed for the past ~140 million years. Before seeds, plants used to reproduce through spores. The only living ancestors of these plants are ferns, horsetails, lycophytes.
j6x4E TIL about Hunger Stones, rocks placed in rivers below a certain depth and meant to be revealed during times of drought and famine. When one is found, it is marked with the current year, some still bearing dates from the 1600s. One found in the Czech Republic in 2018 reads "If you see me, weep"
yVlVM TIL it takes the light from the sun about 8 minutes to reach earth
x6lo7 TIL Alan Pinkerton fled to America for being associated with workers rights groups in Scotland. He aided John Brown, opposed slavery, and protected Lincoln from assassination plots. However, The Pinkertons would become most infamous for their violence and subterfuge of striking workers.