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TIL in apartheid South Africa a "Pencil Test" determined if an ambiguous looking person was white, black or coloured. If the pencil passed through their hair with ease, they "passed", but if it didn't, it suggested Afro-textured hair and they'd be forced to live apart from the white community.

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dYZ8 TIL that during WW2 a “Bat Bomb” was created. As the bomb descended the bats would warm up and awaken from hibernation. At 1,000 ft. altitude, the bomb would open and 1000+ bats, each carrying a tiny time-delayed napalm incendiary device would emerge.
oVpR TIL: Swedish warship Vasa, it sank in 1628 and was recovered from the ocean in 1961 almost completely intact. This is the only remaining intact ship from the 1600’s. This ship is housed in The Vasa Museum in Stockholm Sweden. A museum built around the ship.
woPk6 TIL Increasing the Car Seat Age Requirement Cut Child Births by 145k+ Since 1980
0AYA TIL That the most expensive photograph in the world, which sold for $4.3 million dollars at auction, was photoshopped…
j69QN TIL about the "arrow stork" that helped understand the "annual sudden disappearance of birds"