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TIL that the prize for the Val d’Isere downhill ski competition in 2005 was a cow, the organizers intended to trade the cow for a $5000, but olympian Lindsey Vonn declined and kept the cow, it was later found to be worth $20000.

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M71gV TIL the world's oldest terrarium / sealed bottle ecosystem has been thriving since 1960. The 10-gallon bottle is like a mini Earth. It has only been opened once in 53 years to add a bit more water (in 1972). Otherwise it has been sealed without fresh water or air.
DQnMY TIL about the Inauguration of the last Russian Tsar. Over 1,200 peasants were killed in a crowd crush event caused by Tsar Nicholas II offering a crowd of 500,000 beer and pretzels to win their approval at his inauguration. In response to the tragedy, the Tsar attended a private gala the same night.
5YjPD TIL that the Barenaked Ladies' song "One Week" spent one week at the top of the Billboard Hot 100.
LkOWV TIL in 2013 a Verizon programmer was found outsourcing his work to a Chinese company for less than 20% of his salary and spending his "workday" surfing the Internet. The Chinese code was so good that the programmer was regarded as the best in his department of Verizon.
R77N7 TIL that an English inventor named Maurice Ward (1933-2011) invented a thermal shielding material called Starlite which was able to withstand extreme heat (10000 degrees C), but never revealed its composition in fear of reverse engineering and losing control of rights to the material.