› added 5 years ago

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TIL about the Eisriesenwelt, a natural limestone and ice cave in Austria. It is the largest ice cave in the world, extending more than 42km and the frozen lake inside the cave, during the Second World War, was used by skating athletes to train for the Olympics.

e0D0k TIL After Col. Shaw died in battle, Confederates buried him in a mass grave as an insult for leading black soldiers. Union troops tried to recover his body, but his father sent a letter saying "We would not have his body removed from where it lies surrounded by his brave and devoted soldiers."
wLO4o TIL that a "paracosm" is a detailed imaginary world that many people have, often developed during childhood and can continue for a long period of time, e.g. into adulthood. The paracosm may incorporate real-world or imaginary characters and conventions.
VM0lk TIL Disney insisted Jack Skellington have eyes as the eyes are what connects the character with the audience. Tim Burton and Selick wouldn't budge, and ultimately proved their anti-hero didn't need oculars to connect with the viewer.
JYJ74 TIL that MIT students discovered that by buying $600,000 worth of lottery tickets in the Massachusetts' Cash WinAll lottery they could get a 10-15% return on investment. Over 5 years, they managed to game $8 million out of the lottery through this method.
GY4VG TIL the head of a tiny dinosaur that lived nearly 100 million years ago was found trapped in amber. The head of Oculudentavis khaungraae ("eye-tooth bird") is 14mm long with large eye sockets like modern lizards and upper and lower jaws full of sharp teeth, the most found on any ancestral bird.