› added 11 years ago

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TIL that executioners in the Middle Ages extracted fat from bodies and sold it to doctors. They claimed that ointments made from human fat could treat joint and bone ailments. In 2001, scientists discovered that human fat contains stem cells which can be converted into bone and cartilage.

5YWlR TIL had it not been for the Norman Conquest of 1066, the English we speak today would have been much different and more restrictive. The merging of Old English and Norman French led to Modern English being sort of hybrid of the two, giving another shade of meaning to words such as "swine" vs "pork".
KO784 TIL that hundred thousands of kudzu plants were planted in the US South to fight erosion. The vine can spread over one foot a day and spread through runners, rhizomes and by vines that root at the nodes. It is now overtaking entire areas, outcompeting all other plants including trees
ne7wo TIL over half of the world's lentils are grown in Canada, with about 95% that amount grown in the province of Saskatchewan alone
QN5Ad TIL that Mafia boss, Gioacchino Gammino, escaped prison in 2002 and stayed free until 2022, after a Google Streetview car spotted him outside a fruit stand in Spain.
Wr8N TIL a year before “affluenza” teen Ethan Couch killed 4 people while driving drunk, he was caught with alcohol and a naked, passed-out 14-yr-old in his truck. Since then, his mother was convicted of forcing another vehicle off the road and his father was arrested for impersonating a police officer.