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105

TIL that the bees of the British Royal Family were informed of the Queen’s death and their hives were adorned with black ribbons, following old traditions of informing bees about change of ownership

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R7Nx7 TIL watermelons were not yet “domesticated” by the mid 17th century in Europe, although they were starting to appear in gardens. They had not yet been bred for richness of flavor or concentration of flesh as can be seen in period art.
kJn8d TIL Argentina forbade teacing Venn Diagrams in schools as the concepts of intersection and collaboration were considered subversive
LL7m TIL a wealthy Chinese tycoon was jailed for electrocuting, butchering and eating endangered tigers at his dinner parties.
JyD1 TIL that “Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times.”
prOp TIL in 1947 the British used 6800 tonnes of surplus WW2 explosives to destroy military infrastructure on the tiny island of Heligoland. Loss of the island was acceptable. The explosion resulted in one of the largest single non-nuclear detonations recorded. Newsreel footage in comments.