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TIL that numerous countries have very different names in their native languages: China is Zhōngguó, Egypt is Misr, South Korea is Hanguk, North Korea is Chosŏn, Hungary is Magyarország, Armenia is Hayastán, Albania is Shqipëria, Georgia is Sak'art'velo, Bhutan is Druk Yul, and many more

mNWM TIL On October 23, 1999, BASE jumper and stuntwoman Jan Davis made a protest jump off El Capitan to lift Yosemite’s BASE jumping ban. She died in the process. The ban remains intact.
v1GZD TIL Pope Stephen VI put the corpse of his predecessor, Pope Formosus on trial for illegally serving as a Bishop, seven months after his death. Finding the corpse guilty, they cut off three of his fingers, stripped his body of its Papal Vestments, and threw his corpse into the Tiber River. (Year 897)
6o4X TIL when the Emperor Nero began to go nuts, he would stage long singing performances wherein the audience would not be allowed to leave. Women gave birth during these performances and men would fake their deaths in the hopes of being carried out just so they could get away.
5VdyP TIL in many countries there's a mandatory requirement for companies to pay salaried employees a "thirteenth month" and even a "fourteenth month" - yearly bonus pays each equivalent to one month's normal salary
GYMKG TIL that the town of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, was built around a large oak tree in 1717. Legend has it that George Washington and his troops camped under it during the Revolutionary War. The tree was estimated to be 619 years old when it died in 2016.