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TIL that the most severe capital punishment in Ancient China was the “Nine familial exterminations”, which involved executing the offender, his parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, siblings, siblings-in-law, uncles, and uncles’ spouses.

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LQ0OP TIL from 1976 to 1989 an unknown taping noise was audible worldwide on commercial and civilian communications (tv broadcast, commercial aviation, SW radio). The source was the Duga radar "The Russian Woodpecker" a huge over-the-horizon radar used by the Soviets as a missile detection system.
XExEj TIL in Spain they pray to St Cucuphas when something is lost. They tie knots into a handkerchief representing his testicles. They promise to undo the knots once the lost object is found.
Eg9mP TIL where the idiom “dead as a doornail” came from. In old times when nails were made by hand, they were often reused and had quite a long life span. Nails used to make doors however, only had a one time use because of how they were used to build a strong door.
VBv70 TIL: Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's album "E. 1999 Eternal" was loosely based on the Sega Genesis game Eternal Champions- The bad ending theme being the basis of the original "Crossroad", which would later be remixed, becoming the group's biggest single and earning them a Grammy.
XEbVj TIL in 1970, dynamite was used in a failed attempt to disintegrate a whale carcass on the Oregon coast. After detonation, most of the carcass remained on the beach, and the remainder flew into cars and people near the beach.