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TIL Somali novelist Nuruddin Farah has garnered acclaim as one of the greatest contemporary writers in the world. Farah was warned that the Somali government planned to arrest him, so he began a self-imposed exile that would last for 22 years

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l7PDa TIL That only two states in the U.S. allow "mutual combat", being Washington and Texas. And that Consent to fight in Texas doesn’t need to be explicitly stated. If someone’s words and actions make it clear that they want to fight, this is considered consent
gMmLb TIL President Lincoln was one of only 3 targets on the night he was assassinated. The Secretary of state was beaten almost to death that night, and the VP's assassin chickened out drunk in a hotel bar.
GYpVQ TIL on the upper floors of the 2700-ft Burj Khalifa skyscraper, the sun is still seen for several minutes after it has set at ground level. Dubai clerics have ruled that residents above the 80th floor should wait 2 additional minutes to break their Ramadan fast, and those above the 150th, 3 minutes.
loeR5 TIL that in 1958, Chairman Mao ordered the killing of all sparrows since they threatened crops. It backfired, since the near-extinction of the sparrows lead to more bugs eating crops. This resulted in the deaths of forty-five million people.
JNL1 TIL Humans have a genetic predisposition towards open spaces called a “Savannah preference”.