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TIL Velcro is the name brand of Hook and Loop Fastener. It was invented in the 40s by a Swiss engineer and patterned after cockleburrs, burdock seeds that would stick to his pants and in his dog's fur. He looked at them under a microscope and was inspired to recreate it.

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R5RJ8 TIL that tar was used in 9th-century Baghdad, which had streets paved with tar, derived from petroleum that became accessible from natural fields in the region.
j6NwX TIL. Ants can create a death spiral when losing track of the main group. Walk until death.
PVOE TIL that in the classic 1938 Errol Flynn film “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” the producers wanted a realistic ‘look’ when people were killed by arrows. Instead of SFX or editing tricks, they just hired an expert archer to shoot extras wearing padding. Extras were paid $150 each time they were shot.
W7QeL TIL that while each individual paying for their meal is called “going Dutch” in English, in Egypt it’s called “English style.” In Pakistan, Thailand and parts of Latin America, it’s “American style.” In Turkey, it’s “German style.” In Italy, it’s “Roman style.” In Iraq, it’s “Mosul style.”
EOwX TIL that Beethoven routinely had the same breakfast each morning before he started working on his compositions. It consisted of coffee, which he prepared himself. He determined that there should be sixty beans per cup, and he often counted them out one by one for a precise dose.