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TIL The first observatory discovered in the Americas is the Chankillo Archaeoastronomical Complex. It is a prehistoric site (250-200 BC), located on the north-central coast of Peru, in the Casma Valley.

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b91Oj TIL sea mussels use organometallic iron-based bonds in their cuticles. Simulating this feature in synthetic replicas increased tensile strength 58x, toughness 92x, resistance to being deformed elastically 770x, and increased the amount of stress required to permanently damage them 76x.
J7Q4 TIL that as a boy, composer Guiseppe Verdi missed his cue to give water and wine to the priest. The priest kicked Verdi down the alter steps, to which Verdi responded by saying" May God strike you with lightning". Eight years later the priest was struck by lightning and killed.
Oor7X TIL in 1987, 18 month-old Jessica McClure fell into a well in a backyard in Texas. CNN covered the rescue effort, which took 56 hours, and the story found worldwide attention. In 2011, McClure, aged 25, received a trust fund of donations from around the world. She has no memory of the event.
eYNb TIL that there is a one-room hotel near Antwerp Belgium that is a gigantic scale model of a human colon and anus. Originally created as a work of art, it is realistic in every way including color, veins and a gigantic puckered sphincter.
Jdbv TIL during the Berlin Airlift, the allies became so efficient that they landed a plane in West Berlin every 30 seconds, humiliating the Soviets and showing that a city could be sustained indefinitely by air alone.