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TIL that there is a 150-year-old mosque in Iran that, when viewed from the interior at certain hours of the day, produces an intense kaleidoscopic effect due to its unique pattern of tiling and colored glass

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pk5G TIL that a Polish patriot allowed himself to be captured by the nazis in WW2 to be sent to Auschwitz. Inside the camp, he formed a underground resistance group that did a variety of things such as morale and passing on Intel to the outside. First detailed report of the holocaust. He soon escaped.
XEKJ8 TIL that many languages from northwestern Europe all the way to southern Asia and India, including English, Greek, and Sanskrit, are all descended from a common language called Proto-Indo-European, which is believed to have been spoken in what is today southwestern Russia between 7500 and 4500 BC.
7ZWM TIL that scientists recently discovered a 3500 year old tablet containing what is believed to be the world’s oldest recorded “yo mamma” joke.
4XD0X TIL out of the 270 Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters launched, all but four were recovered. Over 5,000 parts were refurbished for reuse after each flight, and the final set of SRBs that launched STS-135 (2011) included parts that flew on 59 previous missions, including STS-1 (1981).
vPdoB TIL about Lauri Törni who fought for the Finnish Army during the Winter War and Continuation War, fought for Germany during WWII, and fought for the US during Vietnam War, where he was killed. He is the only known Waffen-SS to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.