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TIL The Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust is a grain reserve of commodities and cash. In 2008 the USDA sold the remaining stocks into an all cash reserve. Since it no longer holds commodities, it can respond to local food crises outside the US, but not to a global one that affects the USA itself.

Read more usaid.gov

via reddit.com

yW88 TIL that a doctor attempted to use drugs to keep James Madison alive so he could die on the 4th of July, just like John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe.
xVeJ7 TIL That in 1837, The Speaker of the House of the Arkansas General Assembly Killed another Sate Representative with a Knife Right on the Floor of the General Assembly. They were arguing over a bill about wolf pelts. The killer won at trial and was never punished.
b9NQp TIL that in the away team dressing room at Chelsea FC's stadium, the coat-hangers are very high up to strain the players' limbs; the tactics board is at the back of the door, which is a fire exit and must stay open; and the mirrors give players the impression of being smaller than they actually are
e0Lnb TIL Owls have asymmetrical ear openings with one ear slightly higher than the other. Due to this, owls will hear sounds at two slightly different times. This adaptation, along side their farsightedness and densely packed retinal rods, aid in locating prey at night and low light situations🦉
b9bA4 TIL that the reason people didn’t smile in old photos is because early photography was inspired by painting, where smiling was seen as inappropriate while stern looks appeared more formal for portraits.