› added 3 years ago

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TIL that for over 3 decades, Canada and Denmark have been playfully fighting for control of a tiny island near Greenland called Hans Island. Every once in a while, when officials from each country visit, they leave a bottle of their country's liquor.

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9JPQ TIL that Korean War soldier Eduardo C Gomez took out an enemy tank by crawling across an open rice field, got up on top of the tank, and then pried open the hatch and dropped a live grenade into the tank, killing the tank’s crew.
oBQJ7 TIL about the Himalayan 'Skeleton Lake', a lake at an altitude of about 5000 m, known for the hundreds of ancient human skeletons, the remains belonging to very different eras and to different distinct groups (Indian, South Asian and Mediterranean), whose cause of death remains a mystery though.
MeP6b TIL on Kinmen (a small group of islands off the coast of mainland China controlled by Taiwan) knives are made from spent artillery shells. "Kinmen knives" were originally made from Allied artillery during WWII; blacksmiths now use shells fired from mainland China during the 1950s-1970s.
4dwo TIL that Cincinnatus, a farmer who was made dictator of Rome and gave up power after 15 days, was made dictator again and again gave up power after crushing a coup. His son was tried for incompetence, but was let go because no one wanted to give the news to Cincinnatus and break his heart.
WkLLY TIL Leafcutter ants do not actually eat the leaves they cut, instead, they use them to fuel their fungus-based agriculture.