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TIL about the "Siglas Poveiras", a very local writing system in north Portugal that is used by families as coas or fisherman symbols. It's believed that came from for norse settlers runes that lived in the region.

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loV5K TIL that orchids are named for the Greek órkhis, literally meaning "testicle." The name is for the shape of the root. NSFW
N7yxN TIL of the Axial Age is era between 8th to the 3rd century BCE when many great sages appeared, including the Buddha, Socrates, Confucius, Jeremiah and the mystics of the Upanishads. It's been described by as 'a deep breath, a pause for liberty between the age of empires' where a new humanity began.
nWy07 TIL that Phantom Islands appeared on maps but later found not to exist. They often stem from early sailors' reports, navigational errors, or deliberate fabrications, and some lingered on maps for centuries before being debunked.
rRovW TIL Target has a forensics lab that's so advanced that the company regularly helps police departments free of charge.
X0gGP TIL the infamous coast-to-coast Cannonball Run challenge is named after Cannonball, the locomotive driven by Casey Jones when he fatally tried to make up a 75 minute delay and set a speed record from Memphis TN to Canton MS