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TIL, Nalanda University library in India was destroyed in 1193 by invaders. The 700 year old institution attracted students and teachers from europe and asia. The fire that destroyed the library lasted 3 months and burnt about 9 million manuscripts.

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OG6AR TIL American ski trail difficulty symbols (Green Squares, Blue Circles, and Black Diamonds) were originally designed and tested for a Walt Disney ski resort concept. The National Ski Areas Association then chose the symbols to standardize nationally on.
Xra8 TIL in ancient Greek mythology, Zeus decided to wipe out mankind by flooding the Earth. The world was repopulated by a man and woman who survived the flood by building an ark.
yVyA8 TIL that a uranium mill operated from 1950-1984 in Moab Utah, leaving a large pile of contaminated waste on the banks of the Colorado River, endangering human, animal, and plant life all the way to Mexico. Clean-up is underway and will cost taxpayers as much as 1 billion dollars.
vdZK TIL that Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte, both broke nyc teenagers in love with the theatre, shared single tickets to local plays and traded off at intermission, filling the other one in on the plot so far.
78keb TIL during The Plague of Justinian, the Emperor Justinian made tax payers liable for what their deceased neighbours owed in taxes.