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TIL the Nile river valley used to be a deep canyon system, up to 1.8 km deep where Cairo is today (the same depth as the Grand Canyon). It filled with sentiment 5 million years ago when the Mediterranean Sea refilled after a period of drying out.

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LQV0p TIL Hans Gruber, the villain of Die Hard who appears on numerous “greatest movie villains of all time” lists (AFI, Empire, etc.), was theater actor Alan Rickman's first film role.
wL5Qo TIL scientists have discovered how to implant false memories in mice. While false memories have been induced behaviorally for decades, and we can now boost our memory capacity, only recently have we been able to neurologically implant memories by filling neurons with laser light.
xEbD TIL Charlie Bronson (The prisoner) demanded an inflatable doll, a helicopter and a cup of tea during one of his hostage situations, but then released the hostage after being disgusted when he farted in front of him.
ne10P TIL of Just Nuisance, the only dog ever to be officially enlisted in the Royal Navy. He never went to sea but would accompany sailors on train journeys and escorted them back to base when the pubs closed. He died in 1944 at the age of 7 and was buried with full military honours.
VMOym TIL there was a virus in the popular video game, World of Warcraft, which, despite being intended for a small area, spread rapidly causing vacant cities and widespread death until it was fixed. The event grabbed the attention of epidemiologists.