› added 7 years ago

420

TIL that approximately 70 people spent four years in Madagascar collecting and handling over 1 million golden orb weaver spiders to use their silk in the production of an 11-by-4-foot (3.4-by-1.2m) “golden” embroidered cloth, the largest ever of it’s kind.

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m1JMv TIL that mini-horses are also employed as service animals and are protected in law much the same as a service dog.
xVGA5 TIL that Prague is well known for its defenestrations, in which someone or a group of people are thrown out of a window. These defenestrations have historically been responsible for both wars and peace within the nation, as well as the deaths of prominent figures.
rRQQo TIL when Mayhem's lead singer Dead committed suicide, the group's guitarist Euronymous made necklaces of his skull and gave them to members of the black metal community. This act made bassist Necrobutcher quit; his replacement, Varg Vikernes, murdered Euronymous 2 years later.
9Ywer TIL that in the early 2000s, Sony needed more of a mineral named coltan to supply the public's insatiable demand for PS2's. This mineral is mainly found in the Eastern Congo, and Sony had to negotiate directly with a radical militant group occupying the area in order to mine it.
R70Jw TIL: In the Viking period, Ulfberht swords were made of crucible (very pure) steel all the way from India. The exceptional quality of this steel made them so valuable that forgers faked the name Ulfberht on lower-quality swords, the equivalent of a fake designer logo.