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TIL the Hass Avocado, which accounts for more than 80% of US avocado crop, was patented in 1935 after an accidental seedling grew fruit that Hass' children liked and brought to his attention.

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NmAE TIL that the southern United States converted all its railroads from broad gauge (5 feet/1.524 meters) to standard gauge (4 feet 8 1⁄2 inches/​1.435 meters) in 36 hours starting on May 31, 1886
bVla TIL that on average, individuals with serious mental illness die 25 years earlier than the general population.
loB4N TIL that Mithridates VI was so paranoid of being poisoned that he slowly drank small amounts of it throughout his life in order to gain an immunity. When he was captured by the Romans, he tried to kill himself with poison but could not
4Jw TIL Helena Bonham Carter pays her psychotherapist-mother to read her scripts and deliver her analysis of the psychological motivation of the character Helena is to play.
1XVD TIL Kim Jong-il only ever publicly addressed the North Korean people once, in 1992 he said during a military parade “Glory to the officers and soldiers of the heroic Korean People’s Army!.” He never made another public speech again.