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TIL Illegal home distilling of pálinka became popular in the 18th century when peasant breweries were shut down. The practice was fuelled by the desire to make use of fruit that had fallen from the tree and could not be eaten, coupled with the knowledge that making it at home was much less expensive

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yQlXV TIL that despite its name, West Virginia’s “New River” is one of the oldest rivers in the world. It cuts through the middle of the Appalachian Mountains, themselves a remnant from the supercontinent Pangea. This is because it is probably older than either.
W6PX TIL Ronald McNair (killed on the Challenger) was the second black man in space, had a black belt in karate, and a Ph.D. in physics from MIT. He had a sax with him on the trip and had planned to compose the first sax song in space.
4Xvlo TIL In 1917, people were deliberately infected with malaria to cure their syphilis, while the malaria was cured quinine. The man who developed this treatment, Julius Wagner-Jauregg, received the nobel prize for it.
LkWB0 TIL in France the butter content of a croissant is indicated by its shape. As a matter of law, only croissants made with butter can be shaped straight. Croissants made with margarine or other fats have their ends curled in.
5MXp TIL after the Great Seattle Fire, the city decided to raise street levels downtown by 8 to 32 feet. During the transition, people had to climb ladders to cross a street then climb back down to sidewalk level on the other side. 17 drunks died by falling off streets and onto sidewalks below.