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TIL Teeth blackening, a custom of dyeing one's teeth black, is usually done during puberty. It was primarily done to preserve the teeth into old age, as it prevents tooth decay similar to the mechanism of modern dental sealants. It was seen as a sign of maturity, beauty, and of civilization.

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QJRKM TIL Cuvier's beaked whales hold the record for the deepest and longest dives ever documented for any mammal. During one study, the longest dive recorded was 137.5 minutes. This was also the deepest dive at 9,816 feet. The whales' rib cages can fold down to reduce air pockets and decrease buoyancy.
rNGdy TIL in 1907, passengers arriving at Ellis Island had to pass a medical exam to enter the US. Doctors used a secret code to mark passenger's clothes with chalk: 'H' indicated heart trouble suspected; 'L' suspected lameness, and 'X' suspected feeble-mindedness.
4XwQX TIL pomeranians used to be much bigger, weighing about 40 lbs (18 kilos). Then Queen Victoria got a tiny one, which immediately became popular. By the time she died 12 years later, the size of the breed had decreased by half.
kJk5g TIL Theodor Morell, Adolf Hitler’s quack personal physician, prescribed him cocaine eye drops, heavy doses of oxycodone, and amphetamines, sometimes up to 20 times a day. To combat Hitler’s excessive flatulence, he prescribed “Doktor Koster’s Antigas Pills”, a mixture of atropine and strychnine
X0VV8 Til that the first chemical fertiliser was manufactured from dinosaur dung