› added 1 week ago

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TIL that Antarctica is technically the largest desert on Earth, receiving less annual precipitation than the Sahara Desert

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via reddit.com

4XRD6 TIL of the British Iraq Levies, a force mostly composed of Iraqi Turkmen, Kurds and Assyrians that fought alongside the Allies in WWII
rNmdW TIL after fighting in WWI, A. A. Milne had PTSD so severe, he was reminded of whizzing bullets by buzzing bees, and cannons firing by balloons popping. Wanting a lighthearted distraction and a way to explain to his son the difficulties of war, he wrote Winnie the Pooh stories as his way of doing so.
1Bk8 TIL In 1909, the Criminal Code was amended to criminalize the abduction of women. Before this, the abduction of any woman over 16 was legal, except if she was an heiress. The maximum penalty for stealing a cow was much higher than for kidnapping an heiress.
aKOM TIL of the Confederate Memorial Fountain in Helena, Montana which wasn’t formally recognized as a territory until 1864 and didn’t become a state until 1889. Confederate troops never came within 1,000 miles of the area
PYO8E TIL that crabs have evolved independently at least five times