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TIL after Galileo discovered the 4 largest moons of Jupiter, he sought the patronage of the Medici family and proposed naming the moons after their 4 sons. However, the names Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto—based on the names of Zeus’ lovers—were later popularized by the astronomer Simon Marius.

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9aa7 TIL of the Carolina Parakeet, a neotropical parrot that was native to much of the United States up until they were driven extinct by deforestation, hunting, and possibly disease in 1910. They lived in huge flocks of up to 300 birds and were likely poisonous to eat.
W7xG4 TIL that in 2008, the city of Chicago sold the rights to collect revenue from its 36,000 parking meters to a foreign-owned company based in the U.A.E, receiving a one-time lump sum of $1.2 billion against a 75 year lease. These parking meters generate about $200 million in revenue annually.
9w7MX TIL that following a deadly avalanche in 1962, Peruvian authorities were warned of the potential for a much larger slide to occur by a group of American climbers. These warnings were not only ignored but actively suppressed. 8 years later the deadliest avalanche in history occurred, killing 30k
loGn5 TIL: Some cultures use remoras to catch turtles. When a turtle is sighted from a boat, a remora is released attached by a rope; it heads directly for the turtle and fastens itself to the turtle's shell, and then both remora and turtle are hauled in.
pNLe TIL the population of Ireland still hasn’t recovered from the famine of 1845-1852. It was at 8 million before the famine and is at 4.5 million today.