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TIL some regions in United States have been painting their porch ceilings a specific shade of blue, believing it wards off evil spirits, haints, and ghosts. So much so, that all major paint companies sell this color. (e.g. SW9063 "Porch Ceiling")

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JYavV TIL that up to 25 percent of cowboys in the West during the later 19th century were black. Former slaves or born into a formerly enslaved family, they worked in an industry that despite facing inevitable racism was a generally less discriminatory than other industries at the time.
v19kr TIL Actress Geena Davis almost qualified for the USA Archery Team for the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics
apEM TIL Prince covered Radiohead’s “Creep” at Coachella in 2008, and a mobile phone video of it was uploaded to Youtube. Prince quickly made Youtube remove it. After finding out about the blocking, Radiohead’s lead singer Thom Yorke said “Well, tell him to unblock it. It’s our song.”
8e8OL TIL that the world's oceans contain 20 million tons of gold. This gold is dispersed throughout the oceans in tiny particles and is not currently economically feasible to extract. The total value of this gold is estimated to be around $771 trillion, which is nearly 10 times the current global GDP.
AD4Ba TIL Virginia opossums only have a typical life span of 2-4 years with the oldest captured wild one being 3 years and the oldest in captivity being only 4 years and 5 months old. Common opossums lifespans are even shorter.