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TIL of Venture Smith, the son of an African prince who was enslaved at ten years old. He eventually purchased bought he and his family's freedom and eventually owned a 130 acre farm.

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ADaE7 TIL that it has been argued that the "rib" (צְלָעֹת ṣela‘, also translated "flank" or "side") in the story of Adam and Eve is actually a mistranslation of a Biblical Hebrew euphemism for baculum, a bone found in the penis of many placental mammals but that is absent in the human penis.
b6kmE TIL that in Yukon, Canada, there is a "desert" between mountains and forests. Despite the name, scientifically is not a desert in the traditional sense, are dunes created by glaciers 24,000 years ago, but locals nickname the place as "the world smallest desert".
D1Agj TIL Japanese train drivers and conductors "point and call" at all important signs and warnings. As it turns out, research conducted in 1994 by the Railway Technical Research Institute found that the combination of pointing and calling reduced mistakes by almost 85 percent.
VMDjG TIL Lagos in Nigeria has a Brazilian Quarter. In the 1800s, formerly enslaved Afro-Brazilians began to return to Africa. They formed an exclusive business elite known as 'Agudas' who intermarried and built their community in the Brazilian style. Descendents hold an annual Brazilian style carnival.
d0BB TIL that in 2011 researchers let 100 paper planes go 23 miles above Germany. Since then some have been found in Canada, USA, Australia and South Africa.