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TIL about the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a secure backup facility that protects duplicates of seeds that are conserved in genebanks around the world. The purpose is to protect the world's food supply in case of disaster.

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9w7Wp TIL of the 1950's Quiz Show Scandal. It was discovered that several televised quiz shows were fixing the winners, leading to public outrage. In response, Congress passed a federal law that outlaws any contest or game with "prearranged or predetermined" winners or an "intent to deceive the audience."
yVOZl TIL in 2008 a man woke up unable to breathe so he performed a self-tracheotomy with a steak knife. It was the second time he'd done it.
4kO4b TIL when Prince Rupert was shot in the head, his commander said "Monsieur, I am most annoyed that you are wounded." to which Rupert responded "And me also" His commander was killed shortly afterwards. Rupert would recover.
JYLpj TIL the title of the novel "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea" does not refer to a depth. It refers to the distance covered by the Nautilus in immersion during its voyage. 20k leagues is around 80 000 km. The correct translation of the title is "... under the seas" making the distinction clearer
vB97 TIL Author William Peter Blatty once won $10,000 on the Groucho Marx show “You Bet Your Life“. When Groucho asked what he planned to do with the money, he said he planned to take some time off to “work on a novel.” The novel turned out to be “The Exorcist“.