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TIL that during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, US forces built a military base on ancient ruins of the city of Babylon, causing substantial, irreparable damage, which included levelling areas for helipads

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KRGa TIL Cats were so revered in ancient Egypt that when a cat died, the household would go into mourning and would shave their eyebrows to signify their loss. However, when the temple of Bast was discovered in 1888, the mummified cats were ground up and sold as fertilizer.
oRw7r TIL Neil Diamond-Barbra Streisand hit You Don't Bring Me Flowers Anymore started as theme song to 1977 TV soap opera spoof All That Glitters. The show was retooled by creator Norman Lear-women are in charge, men are the sex objects-and another song used but Diamond expanded and recorded the original
YpOOx TIL the only place France borders the Netherlands is in... the Caribbean. The island of Saint Martin is divided between French Saint-Martin and Dutch Sint Maarten.
Dx6D TIL “step on a crack, break your mothers back” was originally the more offensive “step on a crack, turn your mother black”
m1EKM TIL that Mithridates VI was so paranoid he would be poisoned, he regularly ingested poison to build up resistance. When he was finally captured by the Romans, he attempted suicide by ingesting poison, but failed because of his immunity.