› added 4 months ago

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TIL that 2MASS J18082002−5104378 is the oldest star we know of at 13.5 billion years old. It is one generation of stars removed from the Big Bang, and has a companion star that is just as old!

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via reddit.com

GY06E TIL about Trasmoz, a town in Spain that was excommunicated for witchcraft in the 13th century, with Pope Julius II also cursing the village in 1511. Neither the excommunication or curse have been lifted. Every June, during the Feria de Brujeria festival, one person is named as 'Witch of the Year'.
GAPON TIL Yoda was almost played by a monkey in mask!
jNylj TIL the carpet shark, native to the northern Australian coast, is a long, slender shark that tends to be creamy or brown with variously-sized dark spots. They forage for food in tidal pools and risk being stranded, but they can survive for an hour without oxygen or simply walk back to the ocean.
YGlv TIL Dubai uses falcons to keep their city free of pigeons and their messes.
yQ5Bl TIL: During the Russian famine of the 1920s, Government officials advised starving residents to dig up the dried bones of animals, grind them into flour and bake a “bread substitute [that has] a nutritive value of 25 percent more than rye bread, in spite of its unpleasant smell and taste”.