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TIL the sperm whale was named after a semi-liquid, waxy substance found in the whale’s head that researchers mistakingly thought was semen

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KK89 TIL of Hans Island, a tiny uninhabited Arctic island claimed by both Canada & Denmark. Traditionally, Canadian expeditions leave behind a bottle of whiskey for the Danes, while Danish sailors leave Aquavit.
5Y4RB TIL the 1876 US Presidential election had the highest turnout of eligible voters in American history at 81.8%. The winner, Rutherford Hayes, also lost the popular vote.
ADEal TIL in The silver fox domestication experiment, the tamest foxes were selected to be bred, generation after generation, to see what happened: they became very tame very fast, developed floppy ears and curly tails, and some got mottled coats, just like other domesticated animals.
D1D5p TIL that the world uses 27,000 trees worth of toilet paper every day.
GAZ07 TIL that in 1977 a Soviet reconnaissance satellite with an onboard nuclear reactor upon reel entry scattered radioactive debris over northern Canada. The Cdn gov’t billed the USSR for $6M and they eventually paid them only $3M.