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TIL that a team in Tanzania is training giant rats to spot Tuberculosis in human spit. The rats can test 100 samples in 10 to 20 minutes: a human with a microscope takes 4 days to test the same number. The same species is also used to detect landmines.

Read more theguardian.com

via reddit.com

4kEnJ TIL of Hans Steininger, a 16th century German mayor who had the longest beard ever. It went as far as his toes, and he died after tripping over it.
wonG6 TIL that pro-wrestler Biff Wellington was found dead the same day his former tag team partner Chris Benoit infamously took his own life after murdering his wife and son earlier that weekend
8DVL TIL there are islands in the Pacific that have been inhabited by the Mutineers of the HMS Bounty, the Tahitians they brought with them, and their descendants for over 200 years.
jNbLj TIL Ford invented "Robutt", a robotic butt which simulates drivers repeatedly getting in and out of their cars to test the seats in new Ford vehicles. To better mimick real life usage, like getting into your car after the gym, it also sweats, by feeding half a liter water through the fabric.
MeyyW TIL that the planes (Boeing B-29 Bomber) that carried the atomic bombs in WW2 cost more to develop than the entire Manhattan project