› added 1 year ago

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TIL that heirs to the throne of the Ottoman Empire were kept under house-arrest in the "Cage" from puberty until death (or becoming sultan), and it was common for a new sultan to have his brothers killed, including infants, sometimes dozens at once, to reduce the number of claimants to the throne.

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x6rb0 TIL that samples from asteroid Bennu, returned by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, contain molecular precursors to life, including all five nucleobases of DNA and RNA, suggesting asteroids may have contributed essential elements for life on Earth!
R74Y7 TIL of the Ibrahim Prize. a $5 million payout plus $200,000 per year given to African leaders who were democratically elected and left office after their term was up as part of their criteria. For 7 of the 12 years it was offered, it was never awarded to anyone
ZpMdp TIL that the only piece of acting Jack Nicholson did since 2010 was for 2019 video game Trover Saves the Universe, where he voices a tree. The voice was recorded by Justin Roiland, the game producer, at Nicholson's house and is featured in the game as a part of an Easter egg, still to be found.
0d0Yj TIL that scientists weren't able to synthesize human growth hormone up until the mid 80s, so the hormone was extracted from the deceased.
PV6g TIL: There is a theory that the Dursleys in Harry Potter were such bad people because they were living with a horcrux (harry) for so long, similar to how other ones affected Ron and Ginny Weasley