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TIL of the Citadel of Erbil, a mound continuously inhabited since 5000 BC. In 2007 all inhabiants were temporarily evicted to conduct a restoration project, except for a single family, who was allowed to stay as to not break the continuous habitation record.

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grjb TIL the first aircraft to be intentionally shot down by another aircraft went down on October 5, 1914, when the observer in one plane shot the pilot in another plane with a hand gun.
X0v5P TIL Billy Joe Royal's 1985 hit "Burned Like A Rocket" was pulled from radio airplay after the space shuttle Challenger exploded
69EYw TIL Walter Ortmann from Brazil holds the Guinness World Record for longest career working in a same company which is 84 years. His age is now 100.
ZpYnD TIL that the 1927 film "Napoléon" which spans 5 1/2 hours, was originally envisioned by its director Abel Gance to be first of six films about Napoleon's career. After the difficulties encountered in making the first film, he realised that the costs involved would make the full project impossible.
vwdx TIL An ant mill is an observed phenomenon in which a group of army ants, which are blind, are separated from the main foraging party, lose the Pheromone track and begin to follow one another, forming a continuously rotating circle. The ants will eventually die of exhaustion.