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TIL: In the Viking period, Ulfberht swords were made of crucible (very pure) steel all the way from India. The exceptional quality of this steel made them so valuable that forgers faked the name Ulfberht on lower-quality swords, the equivalent of a fake designer logo.

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WkVXL TIL of “the Tree That Owns Itself.” In 1890, a landowner left an oak tree and the surrounding land to the tree itself. When the original tree was knocked down by a storm in 1940, the new tree was planted from an acorn and is now known as “The Son of the Tree That Owns Itself.”
XJDR TIL: The word “nice” used to mean “foolish, stupid, senseless,” and comes from the Latin “nescire”, meaning “to be ignorant.”
5WnP TIL– Due to a combination of high demand and how difficult they are to trace LEGO sets are becoming increasingly popular as a form of alternate currency in the criminal underworld.
wmDo TIL that people literally grow trees and roots into bridges, chairs, “people trees”, ladders, fences, jungle gyms, tunnels, etc… It’s known as “Tree Shaping.” Theoretically, it can even be used to grow homes.
9YkVG TIL: Despite Octopi and Squid being colorblind, they can see color by changing the shape of their pupils to accept specific wavelengths