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TIL that Jonathan the tortoise was born 29 years before the US Civil War and is still alive today

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LkdEv TIL "pioneer" was originally a 16th century military rank, meaning people who advanced first into enemy territory to cut down forests, clear trails, make roads and bridges, etc., so the actual troops could march through after. Pioneer has the same French root as pawn or peon, meaning foot soldier.
Z8YvD TIL Newborns with a vitamin D deficiency have a 44 percent increased risk of being diagnosed with schizophrenia as adults compared to those with normal vitamin D levels. The developing foetus is totally reliant on the mother's vitamin D stores
5j5n TIL that the captain of a United flight had a heart attack mid-flight, and so an off-duty air force captain, Mike Gongol, had to help land the plane, saving 160 lives. He knew he had to help when he heard the PA announcement “are there any non-revenue pilots on board, please ring your call button.”
XgMQ TIL a German Mathematician predicted a flood would engulf the world on Feb. 20th, 1524. A nobleman had him build a three story ark to survive this “apocalypse”. People had gathered to see the ark, when a light rain started hundreds were stampeded to death in the ensuing panic.
awP7y TIL of Aarne-Thompson–Uther Index, a catalogue of folktale types used in folklore studies, dividing tales into sections with an AT number for each entry, with the same tale type number referred to by its central motif or the variant folktales of that type, and related tales were grouped together