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TIL that historically, polio was not widely fatal. 72% of all infections were asymptomatic; 24% resulted in mild illness; 1-5% resulted in more serious but short-term symptoms. But polio was still feared, due to the <1% of cases that led to permanent paralysis and death in a further 5-30% of them.

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Avdn TIL that the weird little “spirals” on jet engine turbine tips are so the ground crews can tell if an engine is spinning or not
wGQ8 TIL When Monty Python made their videos available for free on YouTube, their DVDs climbed to No. 2 on Amazon’s Movies & TV bestsellers list, with increased sales of 23,000 percent.
K749 TIL that Mötley Crüe’s rider includes a jar of Grey Poupon mustard. Once, in 1988, frontman Vince Neil found the ‘wrong’ brand of mustard backstage, lost his temper and threw the bottle at the wall. It bounced back and severed an artery in his thumb.
DYXJ TIL that no one knows who invented the fire hydrant, because its patent was burned in a fire.
ADQM7 TIL of Rick Rescorla, director of security for Morgan Stanley and tenant of the World Trade Center south tower, helped to evacuate all but 13, including himself, of the company's 2,687 employees before the tower's collapse.