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TIL the discovery of quinine as a treatment for malaria played a significant role in the colonization of Africa by Europeans and the prime reason Africa ceased to be known as the "white man's grave".

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JYnyv TIL that musical prodigy Alma Deutscher was the subject of her linguist father's language experiments. He never told her the sky was "blue" in an effort to understand why ancient cultures never used the term for the sky. Her perceptions and name for the sky, "white", were reported in his 2010 book.
ldor TIL that the Mercedes Unimog has won the truck class of the prestigious Dakar Rally several times, often by accident as a support for cars and motorbikes
wLbDE TIL many Airliners use Microsoft Windows for the Chart & Handbook displays in the Cockpit
d6Q7 TIL Al-Qaeda initially planned to fly hijacked jets into nuclear installations, rather than the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. They had decided against the attack on nuclear power plants “for the moment” because of fears it could “get out of control”.
4ORw TIL - Sloths sometimes remain hanging from branches even after death.