› added 1 year ago

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TIL during WW1 France lost 25% of its 18-30 year-old male population.

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mm0y TIL that Victoria Cross is made out of Russian bronze cannons that were captured during the Crimean War. Only 80 more can be made from such bronze.
5YNbR TIL of viruses that attack bacteria called ‘bacteriophages'. The term phage originates from Greek phagein, which translates as ‘to eat'. A single phage injects its genome into a bacterial cell, switching the cells' program in its favor. The host cell eventually dies, releasing about 100 new phages.
epEJ6 TIL that in the 9th century, two Vikings carved their names in runes on the walls of Hagia Sophia. These ancient graffiti have endured from the Byzantine era and can still be seen in Istanbul today.
rb44 TIL that Winston Churchill entered the UK Parliament in 1900 as a Conservative. He defected to the Liberal Party in 1904 but returned to the Conservatives in 1924, saying “Anyone can rat, but it takes a certain ingenuity to re-rat.”
4Kxg TIL Dolphins are considered “non human persons” in India.