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TIL a harpoon fragment patented in 1879 was found in a bowhead whale in 2007, indicating the whale was between 115 and 130 years old.

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dDXMK TIL: Prairie dogs build their burrows with a flat orifice at one end and a mounded one at the other. During a breeze, the different surface geometries create a pressure differential via the Bernoulli effect, forcing air to flow from the flat end to the mounded end, ventilating the burrow.
7ZPr TIL that John Paul I (1912-1978), the last pope who avoided the typical papal regalia and tried to make major progressive reforms to Church doctrine, died just one month into his papacy under mysterious circumstances. The Church has never investigated his death.
epWx4 TIL a 2017 study found that 73 attacks by wild polar bears on humans occurred between 1870-2014, which resulted in 20 human deaths and 63 human injuries.
Yp4Jv TIL In December 1944, US soldier Richard Brookins dressed up as St. Nicolas to hand out gifts to the children of Wiltz, Luxembourg. Though 80% of Wiltz was destroyed soon after, the event is celebrated each year with a 40s "GI" dressed as St. Nick. Brookins passed in 2018, having visited many times.
9ea6 TIL most Japanese schools do not employ janitors or custodians. The Japanese education system believes that requiring students to clean the school themselves teaches respect, responsibility, and emphasizes equality.