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TIL in 1391, Geoffrey Chaucer, famous for the Cantebury Tales, also wrote what is considered the oldest written work in English about an elaborate scientific instrument--"A Treatise on the Astrolabe"

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gMlDy TIL In 1944, a Finnish soldier escaping the Russian Army took 30x the dosage of methamphetamines designed to keep soldiers awake. He managed to ski 250 miles surviving on only a raw bird and some pine buds, and when he got to hospital a week later his heart rate was 200BPM.
a8G19 TIL In 2009, a Chinese man jumped into a panda enclosure to retrieve his son's toy. As the panda came rushing at him, he attempted to escape. However, bystanders urged him to stand his ground, thinking the panda was harmless. The panda bit the man on both legs, resulting in a lot of blood loss.
rY9w TIL, that right now, an ounce of meth costs more than an ounce of gold.
8NjG TIL The only countries to officially apologize for their role in American slavery have been African nations.
Za1o TIL That Mao ordered the Chinese to eradicate mosquitos, rats, flies, and sparrows. Because the sparrows ate seeds, he felt they were eating unearned food, thus, they represented Capitalism. They killed so many sparrows the Eco imbalance contributed to a famine that killed 20 million people.