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TIL Shima Enaga, a small long-tailed bird that looks like a ball of snow

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via reddit.com

YjEP TIL that despite being built as a general service platform to reduce overhead costs, the three F-35 designs have drifted so far apart that it would have been cheaper to initially design three separate aircrafts.
R78XQ TIL of Eyam. A small Northern English village of 350 persons who in 1665 when the plague arrived chose to isolate themselves rather than let the infection spread. 83 survived but their decision stopped further infection in the region.
VBWL4 TIL Claudius Ptolemy made a list of the angle in water for each number of different angle in air, as recorded on a table from 140 AD. But it was not until 1621 when Willebrord Snell found the rule connecting the two angles: sinθi=nsinθr
BrPlL TIL of Albert Pierrepoint, England's lead hangman from the 1940's-1950's. He executed many Nazi's and other high profile murderers. He owned a pub and usually was able to carry out an execution and still make it back to open his bar on time. He once had to hang one of his regular pub customers.
WkvK9 TIL about the Book Wheel. A 16th century invention that could hold various books at any given time for readers to rotate through and choose from. The seated reader could use hand or foot controls to move to the desired book.