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TIL: The burial sites in Medina and Mecca for the Prophet Muhammad's family members were destroyed to make room for the Hajj pilgrimages.

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vynr TIL in 2002 the United States ran a war game, called Millennium Challenge, simulating a conflict in the Middle East in which the U.S. lost decisively. The game was reset and played out based on a script that ensured U.S. victory.
69QGl Today I learned In 1981, General Mills received the first patent for a microwave oven popcorn bag; popcorn consumption saw a sharp increase then by tens of thousands of pounds.
P17ew TIL about Liu Mingwu, a Chinese beggar and serial killer known as "The Beggar Killer," who attacked and killed at least 23 people, predominantly other beggars, across various cities in China between 2001 and 2002. He claimed he did it because they were "dirty and smelly". He was later executed.
4k8Ow TIL that prior to reunification, there were two regions in East Germany that were out of range of West German TV broadcasts and were sarcastically nicknamed the "Valley of the Clueless" (Tal der Ahnungslosen)
Wn5d TIL the Super Soaker inventor is a Tuskegee-trained NASA engineer who used the money earned from a toy to do research on solar power and batteries