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TIL of Kermes dye, a Crimson pigment highly valued in the middle ages. It was obtained by grinding dried female Kermes scale insects that carried unhatched eggs within themselves. At the peak of it's popularity, Kermes dye surpassed Tyrian purple as a symbol of status and wealth.

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nWXro TIL: The Sacred Band of Thebes was an elite force in 4th century BC, consisting of 150 pairs of male lovers. Each pair had an older erastês and a younger erômenos to represent the god Eros and embrace glorious death together. They train with wrestling and dance and were on the front lines.
OQMX TIL Since 1990 more people have been killed by sandcastles than sharks in the USA
eGdJ TIL that the term “Boycott” comes from Captain Charles Boycott, an Irish land agent who evicted farmers from their land during poor harvests. His entire town shunned him, leaving him without and goods, mail, etc. He was forced to leave the country later that year.
5VJPR TIL that our voice has a considerable influence on how we are perceived by other people. A single spoken word is enough to obtain personality ratings that are highly consistent across independent listeners. Based on voice samples, AI can predict how a speaker tends to be perceived by other people.
78Y4L TIL in 2010 a fan of the University of Alabama football team fatally poisoned several 130 year old oak trees on rival Auburn's campus. Six years later an LSU fan set one of the replacement trees on fire.