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TIL in Cherrapunji, India locals have built bridges with living tree roots for hundreds of years. They direct the roots of the native ficus to grow in a certain direction, using bamboo as support. Some of the bridges are more than 30m long and can support the weight of 50 people.

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9wO7r TIL that 2 million discarded tires were deliberately dumped off the coast of Florida in the 1970’s, with the intent to stimulate growth of new coral reefs. Instead, the tires ended up killing off nearby reefs. The tires are still causing damage today.
yQ7NJ TIL that the USSR provided weapons to the Official IRA, 5,000 of which could still be hidden in bunkers
avKJ TIL there’s a bar in Bolivia called Route 36 that exclusively serves cocaine that’s renown for its purity. Because neighbors constantly complain of noise, and because cocaine is illegal in Bolivia, the bar constantly changes its location which it spreads via word of mouth.
R5BP7 TIL Vincent Van Gogh originally planned to become a minister. As a missionary in a poor Belgian mining town, he gave away his nice lodgings to a homeless person and moved into a small hut where he slept on straw. This caused the church to dismiss him for "undermining the dignity of the priesthood."
mxkGP TIL that when the Japanese emperor announced Japan's surrender in WW2, his speech was too formal and vague for the general populace to understand. Many listeners were left confused and it took some people hours, some days, to understand that Japan had, in fact, surrendered.