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TIL Pyotr Tchaikovsky's family original last name was Chaika (Seagull) and it was of a distinguished Ukrainian Cossack background. Tchaikovsky wrote more than 30 compositions while in Ukraine, because - "I found a feeling of peace in my soul, which I couldn't find in Moscow and St Petersburg"

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N7ZJ1 TIL The Phoenix Zoo and the Fauna and Flora Preservation Society of London (now Fauna and Flora International), with financial help from the World Wildlife Fund, are credited with saving the Arabian oryx from extinction.Starting with 9 animals and now estimated more than 8,000 Arabian oryx's.
jekN TIL that the record for the highest number of children birthed by one woman goes to a Russian couple by the name of Vassilyev, having birthed a total of 69 children over a span of 40 years.
KY619 TIL most skydiving parachutes have a computer failsafe that will automatically deploy the chute at a preset elevation or time
OoWrX TIL the Zawiyyet al-Mayyiteen in Egypt, dubbed the “City of the Dead,” is one of the world’s largest cemeteries. Made up of numerous white conical domes that stretch out across a wide plain, the necropolis looks similar to waves in the sea. The cemetery was used by Muslims and Coptic Christians.
QNG4L TIL that more New Deal relief funds were allocated to counties where a larger share of the population had radios, even when taking into account factors of income and wealth, suggesting that politicians are more sensitive to the interests of better informed citizens