› added 8 months ago

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TIL that the scarcity and high demand for sand have fueled a dangerous black market for illegally mined sand, often associated with organized crime and violence.

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pYQXA TIL About the Epirus Leonidas, a directed microwave energy weapon, originally designed to act as air defence from drone swarms, but is so effective it can stop vehicles and boats as well by knocking out their engines.
X5RR TIL the minimum number of people to populate a space colony with minimum inbreeding is 160.
GE8j TIL that when he was in the first grade, Ryan Gosling was heavily influenced by the action film First Blood, so he took steak knives to school and threw them at other children during recess, which led to his suspension
e0Z8J TIL that Julius Caesar was arguing with Cato in the senate. A messenger delivered a note to Caesar. Cato told Caesar to read it aloud. Caesar handed the note to Cato to read. The note was actually a love letter from Cato’s sister, who was madly in love with Caesar. Cato said, "Keep it you drunk."
5VQ6p TIL in 1999, British geneticist John Stephen Jones FRS revealed that approx.11 million of the (then) UK population of 58.7 million had a recent Black ancestor they weren't aware of. This was due to the 18th Century Black populations across the country that had been 'absorbed' into the masses...