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TIL the earliest written references to King Arthur appear in the Historia Brittonum (9th c.), though the full legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table were later grouped into the “Matter of Britain,” one of three great medieval literary cycles.

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7rgOZ TIL it is illegal for civilians to wear camouflage clothing in at least 18 countries, including Jamaica, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and the Philippines.
9wZy7 TIL the Philippine NCAA basketball championship predates the U.S. by 14 years; the first tournament in the Philippines was held in 1924-25 and March Madness wasn't held until 1938-39.
pY1Kb TIL that Charles Bukowski’s father was frequently abusive, both physically and mentally. He later told an interviewer that his father beat him with a razor strop three times a week from the ages of 6 to 11 years. He says that it helped his writing, as he came to understand undeserved pain.
wLMpM TIL that the cornerstone of the US Atomic Energy Commission headquarters contains a time capsule. Inside the capsule are (among other items) scraps of linen from the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were authenticated by carbon-dating & included as evidence of atomic science's non-violent benefits to society
E1LW7 TIL the Chechen Wars of the 1990's had such a devastating economic effect on Chechnya that kidnapping became the main source of income countrywide, procuring over $200 million USD during a three-year period during the wars.