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TIL In the 1950s Turkey (a member since 1949) rejected a Council of Europe proposal for a flag with a cross in golden circle over blue, citing religious concerns, despite suggestions to add a crescent to address Muslim objections. The circle of stars was adopted instead

awoly TIL Robotic assisted surgeries have been done for more than 10 years. The Dr sits at a station in the operating room with a 3-D display and uses joystick-like controls to manipulate robotic arms, but does not physically touch the patient to perform the surgery.
Bg16k TIL actor Northern Calloway, David on Sesame Street took over Hooper’s Store following Mr.H’s sudden passing, died at 41 of exhaustive psychosis, now more commonly called excited delirium syndrome, a “controversial condition” often retrospectively assigned to those who die under restraint in custody
5YmVp TIL that humans are killing 100 million sharks every year (per 2018) and that the consumption of shark fin soup, primarily in China and Vietnam, is the biggest reason behind the massive figure, contributing directly to the killing of almost half of the sharks.
dDr7Q TIL ant corpses release a chemical when they die. A scientist once recreated this chemical and put it on a live ant. Its ant friends kept bringing it to the graveyard no matter how much it struggled to return.
90w7 TIL that 10 years ago today Spain, a country with 94% Catholic population, passed legislation legalizing same-sex marriage, becoming just the third country to do so.