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TIL Arsenic is commonly used in the treatment of a type of leukemia

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ZWya TIL there was anti-slavery ship called the HMS Black Joke during the 1820s
nWEG TIL that in J.J. Abram’s 2009 Star Trek, R2-D2 can be seen floating in the debris field of the starships destroyed by Nero.
MeLam TIL that J.K. Rowling wrote a real person into The Goblet of Fire. The girl was named Natalie McDonald, a Harry Potter fan who was dying of leukaemia while Rowling was still writing the book. You see her character as a first-year who dons the sorting hat and is sorted into Gryffindor.
xV68w TIL that thermostats sense the temperature with a strip of two different metals fastened together. Because the metals expand at different rates, it causes the strip to curve, breaking or completing the circuit at different temperatures.
d4Er TIL that pirates wore gold and silver earrings for superstitious reasons like not drowning or getting seasick, and curing bad eyesight. Also, the earrings’ worth covered the cost of a proper burial. They were also helpful to dangle pieces of wax from to use as ear plugs near cannons.