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TIL about Salina Turda, a massive Roman salt mine in Transylvania which contains an underground theme park and other tourist attractions including a lake, mini golf course, and bowling alley. The salty air down there is apparently very good for asthma.

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BrX4k TIL in 1975 Ingo Bethke escaped from East Germany by floating on an air mattress across the Elbe. 8 years later his brother Holger fled East Berlin by firing an arrow with a rope tied to it and zip lining accross. The two then flew their brother Egbert over the wall on a homemade ultralight in 1989.
pYokA TIL in the 1950s, WHO sprayed DDT in Borneo to fight malaria, inadvertently killing cats. This led to a rat surge and outbreaks of typhus and plague. To counter this, the RAF parachuted 14,000 cats in "Operation Cat Drop."
16vwD TIL there were various hippopotami-based deities over ancient Egyptian civilisation. Taweret protected birth and childrearing co-existed with Ipet, whose "white, dazzling, sweet milk" facilitated the afterlife. Later came Ammit to devour the unjust. All goddess hippos had pendulous human breasts
oR1EW TIL that the first artist to sing the national anthem with their own twist (Jose Feliciano in game 5 of 1968 World Series) was essentially blacklisted for his rendition of the song because folks found it offensive. He wasn't back on Americans' good side until he dropped Feliz Navidad.
J8Om TIL there is a Spider in the Amazon that builds little picket fences around its egg pouches to protect them