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TIL in 1054, Chinese astronomers noted a bright "guest star" in Taurus that was visible in the daytime for 3 weeks and didn't completely fade out for almost two years. The "guest star" was actually the supernova explosion that created the Crab Nebula, which is located some 6,500 light-years away.

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nWP8d TIL Richard Nixon had an enemies list. The official purpose, as described by the White House Counsel's Office, was to "screw" Nixon's political enemies, by means of tax audits from the IRS, and by manipulating "grant availability, federal contracts, litigation, prosecution, etc.
Meng0 TIL that the inside of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is completely empty
VB6ap TIL a South African hunter led an expedition in Zimbabwe where they encountered a charging herd of breeding elephants he shot at the elephants, and one of the elephants lifted him with its trunk. Another hunter shot the elephant, causing it to collapse on Botha, crushing him to death.
5Yprp TIL of the Schiphol fly, which is a fly engraved on urinals at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. The psychology is that men will want to "wash" the fly off the urinal so they focus more when urinating, apparently lowering cleaning bills in public bathrooms.
oLwR TIL: The “Freestyle” Stroke is actually called the Front Crawl, It just happens that in the freestyle swimming competition that Front Crawl is universally the fastest stroke so everyone uses it. That is where the name/misnamed stroke comes from