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TIL The Taiping Rebellion is the bloodiest civil war in world history during which an estimated 20-30M people died. It was started by a guy who thought he was the brother of Jesus Christ sent by the heavens to defeat the Manchus.

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EaN0 TIL Scorpion Venom is the most expensive liquid on earth, at almost $39 million a gallon. Next closest on the list in king cobra venom at $152K a gallon with LSD close behind at $122K a gallon
kjxe TIL that during WWII A. Wald proposed the seemingly illogical idea of reinforcing the undamaged areas of US bomber and not the damaged areas. The holes represented areas where a bomber could take hits and still return home whereas the areas untouched, if hit, would cause the plane to be lost.
mx5Zv TIL Sickle Cell Anemia (a condition which disproportionately afflicts Africans) provides protection against Malaria. It is believed that the reason why Africans are more likely to have S.C.A. is Africans benefited from the condition from living in a Malaria risk location.
Qw09 TIL that in England during the First World War German Shepherd dogs were renamed ‘Alsatians’ owing to anti-German sentiment. It’s only relatively recently that the correct term 'German Shepherd’ has come back into common usage.
WkyJ8 TIL that the song "Christmas Eve (12/24 Sarajevo)", by the Trans Siberian Orchestra, tells the story of an elderly cellist returning to his war-torn home country. He played Christmas carols in the middle of town while the area was bombed by the Serbs.