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TIL that Scarlett Johansson was asked by Oxfam (for whom she was a global ambassador) to stop supporting SodaStream in Israel (which had built illegal settlements in Palestine). She chose to leave Oxfam and do a SuperBowl advert for SodaStream instead.

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EgrGV TIL about Ely Samuel Parker, a Tonawanda Seneca who was formally educated and served as an interpreter and tribal representative from the age of fourteen. During the Civil War he served on the staff of Ulysses S. Grant as military secretary and wrote out the official copy of the terms of surrender.
41lg TIL a chemist cooked a batch of synthetic super-opiate and within months was taking the equivalent of 500 bags of heroin a day
5V1gn TIL In China, there's a dish called Tong Zi Dan, where eggs are cooked in children's urine. Locals collect urine from kids in spring as a raw material. Surprisingly, these eggs sell for double the price of regular boiled eggs due to their cultural significance.
4XEba TIL Badass of the Week: Lachhiman Gurung -- After a grenade exploded in his right hand Gurung was left bleeding, partially blinded and one armed. Then he grabbed his rifle, chambered a round, and shouted, "Now come and fight a Gurkha!". Killed 31 Japanese soldiers in 4 hours that night.
8bEG TIL “Testify” comes from the Latin word testis, which means “witness”. In ancient Rome, two men taking an oath of allegiance held each other’s testicles, and men held their own testicles as a sign of truthfulness while bearing witness in a public forum or court of law.