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TIL Despite having little demand for whale products, Soviet whaling fleets illegally (and secretly) killed over 180,000 whales, driving several species to the brink of extinction.

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neAjr TIL about metal coffins in the 1800’s that had a window so you could see the deceased’s face. Used mainly to deter grave robbers and endorsed by a President.
QldL TIL in Curling, custom dictates that after every match, the winners buy losers a round of drinks
wojX8 TIL Middle East deserts were once home to rivers, lush green grassland with hippos: Study
Em4o TIL that the person who designed Star Wars’ Darth Maul was instructed to make Maul “a vision from your worst nightmare”, and based the original design on an actual nightmare he had. When he presented the design to George Lucas, Lucas shuddered and told him “Give me your second worst nightmare”.
WkgBN TIL Floyd Paxton was eating complimentary nuts and realized he didn’t have a way to close them if he wanted to save some for later. As a solution, he took out a pen knife and hand-carved the first bread clip out of a credit card. His company, Kwik Lok, produces billions of bread closures a year.