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TIL that once a Queen ant has mated she nips off her wings and uses the energy from the flight muscles and fat reserves to lay her first batch of eggs before eating weeks later. She stores the sperm acquired during her nuptial flight for decades continuing to lay fertilised eggs for her entire life.

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YpgAx TIL that Frederick the Great ordered executioners to secretly strangle criminals before they were broken on the wheel. This was to keep the illusion of brutality while, at the same time, being merciful.
ADrow TIL - Jane Austen's brother was a war hero and both of her brothers were admirals.
xOJw TIL that in 2014 Toshiba has repurposed its floppy disk factory, that hasn’t been used for nearly two decades into a vegetable farm
16G4O TIL about the Maeshowe cairn, a neolithic chamber, which Vikings took refuge in during a storm in the 12th century, leaving behind one of the largest collection of runic graffiti. examples vary from "Haermund Hardaxe carved these runes" to a reference to Rangnar lothbrock
6EkDJ TIL a sea lion named Rhonda once escaped from an urban zoo in Providence, RI and was never recovered. She made her way through a few park lakes, traveled over two miles on land, scaled small walls and got to a river that flowed into a bay and eventually the ocean.