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TIL the Chinese had incense clocks in which a trail of an incense with a known rate of combustion was laid out under a labyrinth and the time calculated.

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PJaO TIL in 2010 an insurance company denied coverage for surgery to repair a newborn’s heart defect in which the two major vessels that carry blood away from the heart are reversed, as it was a “pre-existing condition.”
yyGM TIL on September 11, 1857, a wagon train heading through Utah toward California was attacked by a Mormon Militia. The militia had disguised themselves as Indians, but once it was suspected that their cover was blown, the Mormons feigned a truce and slaughtered 120 men, women, and children.
dDWvr TIL that George Carlin performed a 30 minute bit called, "I Kinda Like It When a Lotta People Die" on September 10, 2001.
jNR4X TIL that Ed Sheeran never sells front row seats in order to see the real fans right in front of him. He gives them away to random fans outside so the front row isn't always just wealthy people.
QJ4Qa TIL in 1956 writer Harper Lee received an envelope from family and friends with a year’s salary in it. it read “you have one year off from your job to write whatever you want. Merry Christmas.” She wrote to Kill a Mockingbird which won the Pulitzer Prize and sold over 30 million copies worldwide.