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TIL the Marshallese used map charts made of sticks to navigate the Marshall Islands in canoe. They displayed the major ocean swell patterns and how the islands disrupted them. The charts are only interpretable by their makers who would memorize them before their voyages. They were used up until WW2.

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b9YOa TIL that humans weren't the first species to discover agriculture. That honor belongs to multiple species of ants (and termites) who beat us to it by 50-60 million years.
PYmXZ TIL that survival expert Bear Grylls, a Special Forces Reservist from 1994 to 1997, was very lucky to survive a parachute malfunction while training with the SAS in Africa. His parachute split at 1,600 feet. He fell and landed, fracturing three vertebrae. Incredibly, his spinal cord stayed intact.
ADbXg TIL Christopher Reeve turned down the lead roles in in American Gigolo, The World According to Garp, Splash, Fatal Attraction, Pretty Woman, Romancing the Stone, Lethal Weapon, and Body Heat saying in part “... I felt the starring roles could easily be played by anyone with a strong physique."
XERb8 TIL Psychology researchers found that listening to heavy metal music is a healthy way of processing negative emotions. It does not make people more violent. Some research shows that metalheads are less likely to cheat on their partners than jazz listeners.
Br84D TIL about Juan Pujol García, a double agent who tricked German leaders about the date and location of the invasion of Normandy which lead to its success. He was notable for having received distinction from both sides; the Iron Cross from the Nazis and membership of the Order of the British Empire