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TIL coquina (a stone made from cockle shells) was used for forts in the era of heavy cannons because cannonballs sank into the walls instead of shattering or puncturing them

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QJERa TIL NASA has released ‘spooky’ sounds from space for Halloween.
R5Zj9 TIL that in 2008, the British band McFly were the first chart act to give away copies of their album for free with a national newspaper
YjmZ TIL Some countries use timezones with half-hour deviations - instead of the usual full hour
5oWP TIL Neerja Bhanot, an air stewardess on Pan-Am 73 saved 41 American lives by hiding their passports, alerted the flight crew to escape, showed passengers on how to escape and then stayed behind to ensure everyone got off, then died saving three children from the terrorists. A true heroine.
Yp00d TIL in order to keep Genghis Khan’s burial site a secret, Khan’s successors killed anyone who witnessed his funeral procession. Some 800 soldiers are said to have massacred the 2,000 people who attended his funeral, before being summarily executed themselves.