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TIL: Allspice is an actual plant, not a blend of many other spices.

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epKlk TIL the whistly/chirpy sound you hear when mourning doves take off and fly isn't a vocalization. The sound comes from specially shaped feathers on the wings. See video for examples
nWlab TIL There were more than 300,000 Christian converts in Japan around 1600. After the failed Shimabara Rebellion led by a Christian samurai, 37,000 Christian rebels and sympathizers got beheaded by the shogunate forces.
6ZoY TIL of a substance called “Libyan Desert Glass”; found in the Eastern Sahara and the deserts of Libya, this glass is of unknown origin (possibly from meteoric impacts), and has been found in ancient Egyptian Jewelry such as Tutankhamun’s Pectoral.
GnW1 TIL Mark Twain closely resembled former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Fuller. Twain was once mistaken for him and was asked for an autograph. He signed: “It is delicious to be full, but it is heavenly to be Fuller. I am cordially yours, Melville W. Fuller.”
Lmov TIL Tony Iommi lost the tips of his middle and ring finger in an accident at the age of 17. He ended up tuning his strings to lower pitches so that the thimbles he had fitted could bend the strings more easily. This lead to Black Sabbath’s distinctive sound and the invention of heavy metal.