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TIL there is an island in Ethiopia where Christian Ethiopians claim to have kept the Ark of Covenant for thousands of years. It is watched over by a single man with no name known as the "Guardian" and no woman are allowed on the island for fear of "stirring the passions" of the virgins on the island

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d8vkd TIL the Kuwae volcanic eruption affected the entire world. During the final siege of Constantinople the city's gardens failed and it was racked by a thunderstorm. There were crop failures in Sweden, the Chinese recorded countless died of cold and famine, and Mexican codices record frosts in fall.
gMG48 TIL 38 years ago a man in Perugia, Italy was digging a plot in his backyard for a vegetable garden and discovered an Etruscan tomb dating before Christ.
e0QoE TIL in the event of a nuclear attack, the United States will not engage in MAD, but will try to prevent and deal with the effects of a strike, then decide if it wants to retaliate with a nuclear attack of its own
ADY9B TIL That the world's foremost expert on Sherlock Holmes, Richard Lancelyn Green, was found dead in his flat in 2004 in very mysterious circumstances. Green at the time of death was attempting to stop a Christies auction of Holmes artefacts from taking place and ending up in collectors hands.
0rP5 TIL During storms at sea the waves would rock the boat so seasick passengers would head below deck to a lower point where the rocking was less noticeable. Passengers were thus forced under the deck by the weather… and the expression “under the weather” was born!