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TIL Tamil Siddhas carve iconic symbols for the Hindu god Shiva out of solidified mercury, using a secret process to solidify the mercury passed down through centuries which has still not been totally understood or replicated using modern chemistry

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gra8A TIL that the fear of spiders and snakes is an evolutionary trait, not a learned behavior.
4kMMX TIL that the British tenor, Alfie Boe, got his big break while he was an apprentice mechanic. He enjoyed singing opera arias while he polished the cars, and one day was overheard by a client with connections in the music industry who suggested he should audition for an opera company.
5Y7BB TIL scientists were able to spin a calcium carbonate molecule to 600 million RPM, generating 1 billion Gs of force. Unfortunately, the molecule spun so fast that it disappeared from the experimental chamber and scientist are still trying to find out where it went to this day.
XE8yP TIL of Leona Woods, the only woman physicist on the team which built the world's first nuclear reactor as part of the Manhattan Project. She became a mother during the Project but hid her pregnancy as not to miss work. Afterwards as a professor, she authored >200 papers in physics and astrophysics.
WkgPX TIL the last English knight to be publicly degraded (stripped of knighthood) was Francis Mitchell in 1628. He’d committed extortion. His spurs were broken and thrown out, his belt cut, and his sword broken over his head. He was called "no longer a Knight but Knave" and led to the Tower of London.