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TIL the Morton salt company raised the national IQ by 3.5 points when they iodinized salt in America. Iodine is critical for normal neurodevelopment particularly during gestation.

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4X4pX TIL a crew of about 22 Soviet nuclear sub operators died preventing a nuclear meltdown that could have poisoned the ocean, June 4, 1961. Though they worked quickly in 5-10 min shifts, and wore raincoats, this was not enough to prevent some dying days later, and the rest within two years.
MelWV TIL: The Rwandan Genocide killed 800,000 people and led to war and subsequent genocide that killed 5.4 million.
ZpX0Y TIL that Bobby Driscoll, the voice of Disney's Peter Pan, lost his film contract due to puberty related acne, turned to drugs, went to prison, hung out with Andy Warhol, and died penniless and alone in an abandoned building in the East Village.
XEL5r TIL, cats kill approximately 3 billion birds per year.
49PJ TIL much beloved songs “Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy” from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” and the opening notes of “Hedwigs Theme” throughout the “Harry Potter” series as well as many others were performed on a little known instrument called the Celesta.