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TIL Independent Chinese families are classified accordingly to their stove. In the case of a father's death, the eldest son inherits the stove and the younger brothers transfer the coals to their own new stoves. This invites the Stove god to join their new households and is called "pun chu".

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yQbxJ TIL that hippos produce a natural antibacterial sunblock. The ‘sweat’ is made of a red pigment, which contains an antibiotic, and an orange pigment, which absorbs UV rays. These two pigments work together to protect the hippos from both bacterial infections and sun damage.
7r1Wb TIL that not only is Jar Jar Binks one of the most hated characters in the Star Wars franchise, but he is also one of the most hated characters in the history of film.
nex87 TIL Medieval copyists wrote the Latin word io (meaning "hurray") at the end of a sentence to indicate joy. Over time, the i moved above the o, and the o became smaller, forming the modern exclamation point.
ZpYDD TIL the Inca Empire had a messenger system so fast it could deliver a message over 300 km (190 miles) in a single day, thanks to a network of elite runners known as "chasquis". It was so efficient that even in Cuzco, hundreds of km away from the sea, the Inca ruler could enjoy fresh fish
8aPWK TIL Dionysius the Elder, Greek ruler of ancient Syracuse ran up massive debts; so Dionysius ordered all citizens (under penalty of death) to turn in all their money (drachmas) Once all the drachmas were collected he simply re-stamped each one drachma coin as two drachmas and paid his debt