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TIL the first ever synthetically produced color pigment, Egyptian blue, was created around 2,200 B.C. In 2006 scientists discovered it glows under fluorescent lights, allowing us to detect it on artifacts where it is no longer visible to the naked eye.

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d8oGZ TIL - In the 1980's, Bob Crandall, the head of American Airlines, saved $40,000/year for the airline by removing just one olive from every dinner salad served to passengers.
9YamM TIL that Ismail I, the Turco-Persian founder of the Safavid empire, started his rebellion at the age of 12, crowned himself King of Kings at the age of 14 after capturing Tabriz, and conquered most of Iran and Central Asia by the age of 23.
Y71vr TIL Will Wright created the game "The Sims" after losing his home during the Oakland firestorm of 1991. Replacing his home and his other possessions made him think about adapting that life experience into a game.
Z8Xmv TIL about Herbert Kleber, who pushed for evidence-based addiction treatment, not punishment and moralisms. This approach treated addiction as a medical condition instead of a failure of moral character, and helped prevent relapses, saving countless lives and transforming substance abuse treatment.
5VVLD TIL that yaks are the Swiss-army knives of domesticated animals. They can be milked like a cow, ridden like a horse (including for playing polo), sheared for wool (super warm and soft) like sheep, eaten like a pig, pull carts like an ox, carry stuff like a donkey and their dung burns like wood