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TIL about Physarum Polycephalum, a slime mold that was used by scientists to create an accurate model of the cosmic web, and even recreated the layout of Japan's railway system by placing food in the shape of cities around Tokyo.

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p8g9Q TIL that the town of Palisade, Nevada staged gunfights, bank robberies, and Native American raids during the 1870's to attract tourists as the Transcontinental Railroad was built. The truth was known only by the town, and in reality, the town did not even have a sheriff due to its low crime rate.
W70AA TIL in Castel Sant'Angelo, Hall of Cupid and Psyche was the bedroom of the apartment built by Pope Paul III Farnese in the 1540s. Here Psyche is the personification of the soul (Psyché means "soul" in Greek) and the tasks she underwent represent the path to spiritual elevation towards salvation.
9mGQ TIL in 2007, the House of Representatives of Oklahoma declared the watermelon, a fruit, their state vegetable.
ZpJnR TIL that throughout the 1600s, ports on the English Channel and south west of England were at the mercy of North African pirates. Men, women and children were kidnapped to be sold as slaves.
xQvb TIL Religious belief in the US reached an all-time low in 2014