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TIL in 1893, large calaverite deposits were found in Kalgoorlie Australia, but was believed to be akin to fool's gold. It was used for town construction. In 1896 it was realized that calaverite contained actual gold, so nearly all structures created in the prior 3 years was demolished for its gold.

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d8vN8 TIL two businessmen in Québec bet $517,000 on a best-of-three game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. The loser had to sign a notarized recognition of the debt contract, secured with a mortgage over the loser’s house.
Lk4QP TIL The United States Constitution lists issuing letters of marque and reprisal as one of the enumerated powers of Congress. These letters authorize a private person, known as a privateer, to attack and capture vessels of a nation at war with the issuer. Congress can make you a pirate.
X6Rr TIL that the developers of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed hoped that George Lucas would give Vader’s apprentice a Darth moniker. Lucas agreed and offered up two Darth titles to choose from; ‘Darth Icky’ and ‘Darth Insanius.’ People waited for George to say ‘just kidding,’ but it never came.
9daD TIL that Jason Mewes memorized the entire screenplay of Dogma before filming, because he “didn’t want to piss off that Rickman dude.”
l7G1K TIL: Ledell Lee, a man convicted of murder, maintained his innocence until his execution in 2017. Years later, new DNA evidence revealed the presence of an unknown person’s DNA on the murder weapon, sparking renewed debate about potential wrongful convictions in the U.S.