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TIL: the hit movie Mrs. Doubtfire was originally written as a movie spin off for the TV show Home Improvement. Tim Allen turned down the roll of 2 characters and the idea was scrapped, re-written and handed over to Robin Williams.

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M7Mdm TIL that British soldiers in WW2 used scaffolding to hide the Taj Mahal from potential air raids in India. The scaffolding disguised the monument to look like a bamboo stockpile, protecting it and other cultural heritage sites during the war.
d8oaj TIL that even though seed-bearing plants evolved ~360 million years ago, all plants that bare flowers or fruits have only existed for the past ~140 million years. Before seeds, plants used to reproduce through spores. The only living ancestors of these plants are ferns, horsetails, lycophytes.
5V0JB TIL the 1980s Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar illegally imported four hippos (one male and three female) to his private zoo. After his death in 1993, the hippos were left to roam freely. With no natural predators, their population grew significantly, leading to ecological concerns.
rRK71 TIL Queen Victoria was raised under a strict system called the Kensington System,created by her mother and Sir John Conroy.Her first two requests, upon her accession, were that she should be allowed an hour by herself,and that her bed should be removed from her mother's room. She also banned Conroy.
Ooo9a TIL of the Catalonian ruler Ramon Berenguer II, who co-ruled with his twin Berenguer Ramon II. Both were sons of Ramon Berenguer I