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TIL Pistachios are expensive because the trees take up to 20 years to reach peak production, and are "biennial-bearing", meaning a light harvest every other year. The nuts used to be dyed red to hide stains caused by hand picking, most pistachios are now machine picked and dyeing is unnecessary.

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R7Q8Q TIL Rome has major struggles with expanding the subway system in the city because diggers keep running into major archaeological finds. The Metro C expansion has been in the works for the past 40 years and has unearthed Hadrian's Athenaeum, a military complex, and an amphitheater .
BgBvK TIL that ancient Roman concrete is more durable than modern concrete and can heal its own cracks. It has lasted for millennia due to its unique composition, including volcanic ash, which prevents cracks from spreading. Recent studies have found that the material actually grows stronger over time.
894G TIL artist Peter von Tiesenhausen made the top 6 inches of his 800 acre farm a copyrighted work of art to keep oil pipelines out. It costs oil companies $500/h to talk to him
wL88J TIL Mikhail Gorbachev, final leader of the Soviet Union before it dissolved in 1991, is still alive. He's 87 and just wrote an editorial for the New York Times.
e0Go6 TIL that the creators of "Babar the Elephant" had a son who was a rising classical piano star, but gave it all up in 1970s to become a silent Benedictine monk. He is still alive today, residing in a monastery in En-Calcat, France.