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TIL the Amazon Rainforest area originally had terrible farming soil, until indigenous people invented a “superdirt” which remains fertile for thousands of years, renews and propagates by itself, and may currently cover as much as 10% of the Amazon basin.

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6anW TIL that the United States spent more than $2 billion digging 24km of tunnels in Texas for a particle accelerator similar in scope to CERN, only to abandon the project.
kbxe TIL the Chevalier d'Éon, French diplomat and spy, appeared publicly as male for 49 years but once infiltrated the court of Empress Elizabeth of Russia by posing as a woman. In 1777, d'Éon began dressing publicly as a woman and claimed to be female.
x6Xp5 TIL: Before Anyone Was Called a 'Benedict Arnold', They Were Called 'An Errant George Downing'; Downing Street is Named for Him
rRW51 TIL there was a crossover in the 7th season of the Xfiles with COPS and even featured an exclusive intro in the COPS style featuring Mulder and Skully
neEar TIL The gavel used by the UN President is called "Thor's gavel" as it was gifted to the UN by Iceland's first permanent UN representative Thor Thors