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TIL that the Dance Fever of 1518 was a month-long plague of inexplicable dancing in Strasbourg, in which hundreds of people danced for about a month for no apparent reason. Several of them danced themselves to death.

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aOgJ TIL there is an extinct genus of ape, Gigantopithecus blacki, which stood up to 9.8 feet tall, weighed as much as 1,190 pounds and have lived alongside modern humans for tens of thousands of years.
yQrEe TIL that it can take up to 40 years after exposure to asbestos for any symptoms of an asbestos-related disease to manifest (mesothelioma etc). By this stage, it's often too late to do anything to reverse the effects of the disease.
D1MGj TIL the US Navy has 6 standard alarms for specific scenarios on a submarine. Each alarm sounds different, has immediate actions and priority- collision, diving, missile emergency, missile jettison, general, and power plant casualty. A mnemonic for the order is, "Can Dead Missile Men Get Pro-Pay?"
VMWQk TIL the red ovenbird, the national bird of Argentina and Uruguay, collects mud and piles it on top of a tree branch while letting it slowly dry, like adobe construction.When completed, its characteristic dome-shaped nest bears a resemblance to an old-fashioned wood-fired oven, hence the bird's name.
y4EM TIL: Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, justified his actions saying: “… when Luke Skywalker blew up the Death Star, the movie audiences cheered. The bad guys were beaten. That was all that really mattered.”