› added 7 years ago

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TIL The shrine buildings at Ise, Shinto’s holiest site, are torn down & rebuilt every 20yrs in line with the belief in the impermanence of all things & as a way to pass building techniques across generations. The buildings have existed for ~1300yrs; the 63rd rebuilding occurs in 2033.

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b9jX0 TIL in 800 million years, photosynthesis will no longer be possible on earth and all animals and plants will go extinct. Single celled organisms will dominate the earth once again.
PYLdV TIL that the Peloponessian War between Athens and Sparta only ended in 1996 - no treaty was signed when the fighting ended in 404 BC, so 25 centuries later the mayors of the cities signed a pact saying "Today we express our grief for the devastating war between the two cities and declare its end"
v1wZK TIL that cannibals call humans “long pig” due to the sweet, pork-like flavor that they say is characteristic of human flesh.
Me6LV TIL about Eugene Shoemaker. He was a geologist in the mid 1900's who wanted to go to the moon. He failed the medical exam to go to the moon, but he still helped train astronauts on Apollo 11,12, 13. After dying in a car crash his ashes made it to the moon. To this day they're still there.
LvGV TIL heart disease kills more people per year than cancer, war, terrorism, hunger, suicide, diabetes, respiratory diseases and mental disorders combined.