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TIL of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), a disease transmitted by mosquitos. A third of cases (2/year) die, and many survivors suffer permanent brain damage. It was first recognized in MA in 1831 when it killed 75 horses.

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X0WQ TIL Thomas Edison had his people steal a copy of A trip to the Moon (1902, listed as the 82nd best movie ever made) and made a fortune from it while the creator and founder of modern cinema Georges Méliès who planned on taking it to America ended up bankrupt shortly after.
YpORA TIL that not only is it true that cockroaches can survive decapitation for a week or more but ALSO their heads can carry on moving on their own, waving their antennae back and forth for several hours.
MjoV TIL a partnership between US and Chinese space agencies is impossible - the 2011 spending bill made any scientific activity involving NASA and the Chinese illegal.
Z8lLR TIL that in 2003, MTV aired an adult cartoon called Clone High which features clones of historical figures in high school. It was canceled after one season because it caused mass protest in India and even hunger strikes over its portrayal of Ghandi as a party animal
d8Km8 TIL Oskar Dirlewanger was a Nazi officer so sadistic that other SS units avoided interacting with him. He's been accused of child molestation and necrophilia, and was beaten to death by guards while in Allied custody