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TIL a sharp knife does less damage to the cell walls of an onion, releasing less propanethial S-oxide, the irritant that causes you to cry.

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Jl6k TIL The Radium Girls were factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with self-luminous paint. The women were told the paint was harmless, and ingested deadly amounts by licking their paintbrushes; some painted their fingernails and teeth with the glowing paint.
oBwwR TIL that France suffered from demographic stagnation through the 19th century. While Germany and the UK increased their population by 60% and 54%, France grew only by 8%. If France had the same population growth as England, it's current population would've been over 150 million people.
mAdM TIL of Bo Gritz, a former U.S. army green beret who ran for President in the 90s, helped resolve the Ruby Ridge incident and was partially the inspiration for Hannibal from the A-Team
D1bee TIL Jerry Seinfeld's association to the phrase "What's The Deal With.." was caused by an SNL sketch he was in mocking Observational Comedians that always say the phrase before a joke. Seinfeld himself rarely said the phrase in his shows and in all 180 episodes of his series he only said it 4 times.
ayEy TIL Linnaeus included in his classification of all living beings the class of Animalia Paradoxa, which are animals that are clearly made-up, such as the phoenix, the unicorn, and the pelican