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TIL that people living within 2000 meters of an airport have higher levels of lead in their blood, which is linked to lower IQ in children and a host of diseases. Unlike cars and commercial airplanes, recreational airplanes still use leaded fuel.

Read more ehp.niehs.nih.gov

via reddit.com

96R7 TIL that The International Astronomical Union names all mountains on Saturn’s moon Titan after mountains in Tolkien’s work.
69MAw TIL that the oldest known toy is a set of dice found in ancient Mesopotamia, dating back to around 2800 BCE. They were used for games similar to those played with dice today.
djEQ TIL During WWII, George de Hevesy used aqua regia to dissolve the Nobel Prizes of German physicists Max von Laue and James Franck to prevent them being confiscated. He left the solution in his lab, where it was ignored. After the war, he precipitated the gold out and the medals were recast.
x6Xao TIL in the movie Arachnophobia, the largest spider was a bird-eating spider they named Big Bob, after Robert Zemekis. Big Bob was adopted by a crew member named Jamie Hyneman, who went on to host Mythbusters. The little ones were controlled using a hairdryer and lemon pledge spray.
8awa4 TIL Guillermo del Toro's father was kidnapped by Mexican gangsters wanting a ransom of $1 million. It was James Cameron who, without hesitation, withdrew $1 million in cash from his personal account to guarentee del Toro's father's safety.