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TIL about "Mitochondrial Eve", the most recent woman from whom all living humans descend in an unbroken line through their mothers. Estimates for her age are highly uncertain, with a range of times from 180,000 to 580,000 years ago.

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pYZPQ TIL Olive Yang, a Chinese housewife turned Narco-warlord. A smuggler since she was 19, she built a private army called "Olive's Boys" and took over an entire Burmese Province in the 1950s. Alongside rogue KMT army units, she helped jumpstart the infamous "Golden Triangle" Drug Trafficking Routes.
xVw90 TIL that Sultans of the Ottoman Empire immediately executed all their brothers as soon as they took the throne. One Sultan, Mehmed III, had all 19 of his brothers executed and buried alongside their father
kED5 TIL ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays, the most energetic particles known to humans, all come from the same region of the universe and are caused by an physical process of unknown origin. The most powerful cosmic ray ever recorded carried energy of 300 billion billion eV.
bbDQ TIL Czechoslovak runner Emil Zátopek decided to compete in the marathon in the 1952 Olympics, despite never having run that distance in his life. Zátopek asked fellow runner Jim Peters, who he was racing alongside, if the pace was fast enough. When Peters said “no”, Zátopek sped up and won the race
ANLZg TIL The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has a free Lost Policy Service. It can assist in locating life insurance policies and annuity contracts of a deceased family member or close relationship