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TIL in 1946, during a land survey of Sichuan province in China, a forester encountered a tree he’d never seen before, so took a sample. He came to find it was as yet unknown to science, only previously existing as a fossil. It came to be known as the ‘Dawn Redwood’.

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KNKE TIL of the Lead Mask Case: the unsolved death of two men found on a hilltop wearing lead eye masks with no apparent injuries. A nearby notebook was found to contain the message ‘16:30 be at the specified location. 18:30 ingest capsules, after the effect protect metals await signal mask’
OGGDa TIL in Tibet it's traditional for a woman to be married to multiple husbands who were usually all brothers in order to keep the land within the same family under inheritance laws. The practice was technically outlawed in 1981 but has no penalties and isn't prosecuted.
e0Byk TIL that in the "Cookie Monster" study, experimenters randomly appointed one person the leader of a small group. When an experimenter brought in a plate of 5 cookies, the "leaders" were more likely to take a second cookie, and to eat with their mouths open and get crumbs all over the place.
8a9xK TIL a wood ladder in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem has been in the same place since 1757 because moving it would require the consent of six religious orders who almost never reach a consensus.
7EYX TIL Bono in his teens snuck into a Ramones show and upon seeing Joey Ramone sing felt less self-conscious about his own singing.