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TIL about bacha posh, a cultural practice in Afghanistan where some girls are raised as boys until puberty

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8ajya TIL that, on the same day that James Van Allen announced his discovery of the radiation belts that now bear his name, the US military contacted him to inquire about firing nukes into them.
699nm TIL there was disagreement over the danger of black widow spider bites until a 1933 experiment where professor Allan Blair allowed himself to be bitten. Blair also hoped to determine whether multiple bites would build immunity, but the first bite proved so painful that he decided against it.
KYYg6 TIL that Weird Al's song White & Nerdy is his first and only song to reach the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #9 in 2006, nearly 30 years after his first album was released.
9l1r TIL the oldest brewery in the world is the Weihenstephan Brewery in Germany, it has been brewing since 768.
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