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TIL almost all life on earth was destroyed around 2.4 billion years ago in the Oxygen Catastrophe (aka Great Oxidation Event). Photosynthesizing microorganisms pumped massive amounts of oxygen into the previously oxygen-poor atmosphere, making it oxygen rich. Most species perished, new ones arose.

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yQO98 TIL the original founders of Tesla were Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. They created the company's first car, the Roadster, and were eventually ousted by the board of directors.
B94L TIL of the Coronation Chair, Every crowned English & British monarch since the 14th century, except Queen Mary II, has used the chair for coronation.
KjR9 TIL that nearly every sidewalk in Japan is fitted with tactile paving (the bumpy yellow stuff at the edge of subway platforms) to guide blind people
LbvV TIL the majority of states have official “ancient emblems"—several of which are fossils. An effort by an 8-year-old girl to give South Carolina its own official state fossil was thwarted however, because some lawmakers object to officially recognizing the woolly mammoth fossil on religious grounds.
lo1Ja TIL In Florida, fireworks are legal to buy as long as you sign a form saying you are scaring birds or illuminating a railroad