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TIL Luxembourg’s gold medal at the 1952 Olympics was so unexpected that the organisers had neglected to give the band a score for their national anthem. The musicians “hurriedly improvised a tune which bore little resemblance to the Luxembourg anthem”.

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4DJo TIL Bowhead whales may be the world’s longest lived mammal. In 2007, a 15m (49ft) specimen was discovered with the head of a harpoon embedded in its neck. The 3.5-inch (89 mm) projectile was manufactured in New Bedford, Massachusetts around 1890, suggesting the animal survived a hunt a century ago.
OGxA6 TIL that in 1900, a physician named Jesse William Lazear wanted to prove that yellow fever was transmitted by mosquitoes. He allowed an infected mosquito to bite him, and he became infected with yellow fever, proving the hypothesis correct. He died 17 days later.
woxxJ TIL that in 1087 sailors from Bari (southern Italy) stole the body of Saint Nicholas from Myra (modern day Türkiye). Despite fears of the locals, newly converted Muslims who still worshiped the saint, and Saint Nicholas himself, they brought it home and still celebrate the theft each year on 6 Dec
W0Xo TIL When WR104, a binary star goes supernova, the solar system could be flooded with gamma radiation destroying all life on earth.
YAEr TIL In the early 90s, shortly after Crystal Pepsi was released, Coca-Cola developed a clear version of their Tab cola. However, they intentionally developed it to fail so as to taint the reputation of and take down Crystal Pepsi in an act of kamikaze.