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TIL that the Library of Alexandria was never burned down or destroyed; instead it slowly deteriorated due to the purging of intellectuals from Alexandria as well as a lack of funding and support.

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D1aoe TIL that New Zealander Nigel Richards memorised the French dictionary and won a French Scrabble competition. He does not speak French at all.
JYDVj TIL that half of all US food produce is thrown away (left in the field to rot, fed to livestock or hauled directly from the field to landfill) because of unrealistic and unyielding "cosmetic food" standards!
mx7aP TIL the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is part of the Department of Commerce because President Nixon's Secretary of the Interior publicly criticized the administration's Vietnam War policy. Nixon punished him by putting the new agency under a different department.
4XDyX TIL: In the 1970's you could order a real live squirrel monkey from an ad in the back of comic books. Kids were shocked when they opened the box and a wild live squirrel monkey jumped out.
vPa1R TIL of the Niland brothers, four brothers from New York who fought in World War II. Two died in combat, one survived, and one was believed to be dead but actually survived the war and was held in a Japanese POW Camp in Burma. Their story served as the inspiration for Saving Private Ryan.