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TIL that elephants are a keystone species. They carve pathways through impenetrable under brush shaping entire ecosystems as they create pools in dried river beds and spread seeds as they travel.

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ANrMx TIL October 8, 1871, there was a wildfire in Wisconsin called the Peshtigo fire. The Peshtigo fire is the deadliest wildfire in recorded history, but news about it was overshadowed at the time by another fire happening elsewhere on the same day—the Great Chicago Fire.
6EDp7 TIL that the Carlist pretender to the Spanish throne from 1977 until 2010 was a Titoist socialist
grreL TIL Homo Erectus existed for 1.9 million years and is by far the most successful humanoid species. Homo Sapiens (us) have only been around for 300,000 years.
neD19 TIL that mystery writer and the inventor of the detective novel Edgar Allen Poe's death is actually a mystery itself. The death certificate and medical records were lost and there is no definitive cause of death.
yLYJ TIL The US Congress voted to pay George Washington $25,000 a year. He declined since he valued his image as a selfless public servant but ultimately accepted to avoid a precedent where the presidency would be perceived as limited only to wealthy individuals who could serve without pay.