› added 1 year ago

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TIL the biggest geomagnetic storm in history caused fires in telegraph stations

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pLLO TIL: A Gurkha, armed only with a knife, fought off 40 men trying to assault an 18 year old girl, killing several.
pYdvN TIL the original aluminum apex of the Washington Monument was the largest piece of aluminum in the world, measuring just 5.6 inches (14 cm) by 8.9 inches (23 cm) because at the time (1884) aluminum was as rare and as valuable as silver
LkPJQ TIL that 20th Century Fox sued Universal Studios in 1978, claiming that Battlestar Galactica used 34 distinct ideas stolen from Star Wars. Universal sued Fox, claiming that Star Wars took ideas from Buck Rogers and Silent Running. The case lasted 5 years before the studios settled out of court.
x6x1 TIL that dogs yawn when they are thinking or not sure of something
gMGRL TIL A group of Yemeni fishermen hit the jackpot when they found a floating whale carcass in February 2021, containing a lump of ambergris worth more than US$1.5 million. Also known as “floating gold”, ambergris is a rare substance found only in the belly of sperm whales and is used to make perfume.