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TIL of the Casuarina (she-oak/Australian pine), a tree that looks like a pine tree with its needle-like leaves but is actually a flowering plant.

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xlZB TIL that in 1972 there was a minor political scandal in Washington State when an assistant to then Governor Dan Evans posed as a college student to follow around his opponent during the campaign and report information back to the Governor. The assistant was Ted Bundy, the serial killer.
x6Qb0 TIL that Sacha Baron Cohen's inspiration for Borat came from a Jewish doctor he met in Southern Russia.
Blvb TIL Jack O'Lanterns started in 18th century Ireland and were originally carved into turnips. These turnips were used to ward away the evil spirit of a blacksmith named Jack. When the Irish came to America, turnips were hard to find, but pumpkins weren’t, and thus the pumpkin carving became tradition
78DoM TIL that the person who co-wrote the Christopher Nolan Batman Trilogy also co-wrote Call of Duty Black Ops I and II
R7RQ TIL that some Japanese soldiers refused to accept that WWII ended until as late as 1972, and even then, had to be convinced by their lieutenant.