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TIL of the Voynich manuscript, a 246 page book that is filled with botanical illustrations along with written word that modern linguists have so far been incapable of deciphering. Attempts to identify the plants have likewise largely failed. Carbon dating places the book at around 1400 AD.

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0dyYA TIL After his lung cancer diagnosis, actor Yul Brynner wished to warn people against smoking. After his death, the american cancer society aired an ad with the actor saying: "Now that I'm gone, I tell you: just don't smoke. If I could take back that smoking, we wouldn't be talking about any cancer"
LkmlQ TIL there was a Navajo WWII POW in Nagasaki who survived the atomic bomb & was tortured for being "of Japanese descent", despite his denial. When the Japanese realized the secret US military code was in Navajo, they forced him to translate, although it was nonsense to him as he didn't know the code.
1a1mD TIL A Sperm whale can click at about 236 decibels, making it the loudest animal on Earth. Some researchers believe they can contact each other in the ocean even from opposite sides of the planet. For comparison, a jet engine takeoff registers 150 dB. NASA's Saturn V rocket launch registered 204 dB.
xV1R5 TIL Mexico has a single gun store for the entire country on a military base where it’s clerks are soldiers.
yQmle TIL that in 1920, the town of Jackson, Wyoming elected an all-female town council by a margin of 2-1 over the men, drawing the most voters the town had ever seen. Known as the "pettycoat rulers," the women served for 3 years and did a great deal to clean up the notoriously lawless town.