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TIL: Historian Herodotus described a hairy fox-sized “ant” in Asia that dug up gold from the earth, which would be collected by locals. This was likely the Himalayan marmot, which often makes its burrows in gold-rich soil. Tribal peoples of Pakistan have collected the gold for generations.

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XGLX TIL that in less than 100 days, Queen Elizabeth will officially become the longest reigning British monarch in history, surpassing Queen Victoria who reigned for nearly 64 years.
NAYM TIL that in 2008 Detroit police used SWAT tactics to raid a party at an art museum. Guns drawn, they forced everyone to the floor before searching every attendee and confiscating over 40 vehicles… all because the museum didn’t have the right alcohol permit.
8eQAP TIL that in 1859 a 2 hour telegraph conversation between Portland and Boston was able to be had without the use of any battery power. This was due to an aurora borealis generating enough electric current in the telegraph wires.
rNAgo TIL in 1864, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay teamed up to, in effect, almost wipe Paraguay off the face of the planet. In total, 60–70% of the population of Paraguay died as a result of the war, leaving a woman/man ratio of 4 to 1 (as high as 20 to 1, in the most devastated areas).
v16EK TIL There is a community called the "Dozenalists" that believe a base-12 counting system, instead of our current base-10 (decimal) system, is a more efficient way of conceptualizing and understanding mathematics.