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TIL in 1973, José Luis de Jesús Miranda claimed to be the Messiah and started a church that reportedly gained 2 million followers in 30 countries. After a divorce, $46,000 in gambling debt, and claiming he was the Antichrist, he died August 8, 2013. His church denies the death and still carries on.

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9wKXD TIL Ancient Egyptians tested for pregnancy by having potential moms urinate on bags containing wheat and barley; if they sprouted shortly after it was a sign of pregnancy. A 1963 study reproduced the results as 70% accurate.
LoVP TIL In 1907 Joseph Stalin said at the funeral of his first wife, “This creature softened my heart of stone. She died and with her died my last warm feelings for humanity.”
G64 TIL that Christopher Lloyd was only 47 when he played the role of Doc Brown.
ZpJ0B TIL that Zion National Park, originally named Mukuntuweap National Monument by the U.S. Government, was renamed by early Mormon settlers who were inspired by the biblical Mount Zion, seeing the landscape as a natural temple of God.
awDJA TIL that ancient Greek historian Herodotus once reported that there existed gold-digging ants. This was most likely a translation error. But there are marmots in the Himalayas of the Deosai plateau where local tribes have been known to collect gold dust from their burrows