› added 6 years ago

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TIL of Dipprasad Pun, a Nepalese soldier during the War of Afghanistan who was attacked by 30 insurgents. Believing he was about to die, he expended all 400 rounds of his ammunition, launched 17 grenades, detonated a Claymore mine, and killed an attacker with his tripod, causing them to retreat.

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PeMe TIL that in 526 AD, there was a worldwide dust cloud that blocked out the sun for an entire year, resulting in widespread famine and disease. More than 80% of Scandinavia starved to death and 30% of Europe died in epidemics. No one knows the cause.
neEyo TIL Harvard Business School's Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Center is the first named for a woman and Asian American. At eight, she journeyed alone back to her birthplace to reclaim the family's hidden gold. Sewing it into her garments and passing undetected by Japanese forces, she returned safely
LeEZ TIL of the ‘flic-flac’ desert spider - so called because of it’s ability to double its speed by cartwheeling out of danger
wLv4M TIL it is thought that the genes for light skin appeared in Anatolia (the westernmost protrusion of Asia) by about 8,500 years ago, & only became widespread in Europe by about 5,000 years ago.
mxLvp TIL as Late Republican Rome descended into civil war, the collection of precious rocks was exploited in elite political competition. Senator Nonius refused to sell Mark Antony his opal ring for 2 million sesterces, so the triumvir proscribed him. He fled into exile with nothing but his gem.