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TIL The concept of a spherical Earth dates back to the 6th century BC and it was confirmed by Hellenistic astronomy in the 3rd century BC

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x667B TIL In 1014, Byzantine Emperor Basil II captured several thousand Bulgarian soldiers, put them into groups of 100, and blinded 99 in every group. The last soldiers had only one eye gouged out and were ordered to lead their blind friends home. Upon seeing this, Tsar Samuel died of a heart attack.
aRlL TIL that diarrhea was the leading cause of death in the American Civil War and soldiers had an honor code against shooting someone that was pooping.
wED6 TIL that pineapples were such a status symbol in 18th century England that you could rent one for the evening to take to a party.
R7xv9 TIL the tongue and hyoid bone of this pileated woodpecker wrap around its skull to help cushion the brain while it's pecking for food. The bird's inner-skull contains compressible sponge-like bone, mostly concentrated in the forehead and the back of the skull, which functions as a shock absorber.
P1Avg TIL there was only one officially recorded homicide in New York City on September 11, 2001