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TIL an analysis of Beethoven's hair found high levels of lead, arsenic & mercury. The high amount of lead in particular likely contributed to his deafness. One lock of hair had 380 micrograms per gram & a second one had 258 micrograms. A normal level of lead is around 4 micrograms or less per gram.

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NkYM TIL that in 5,000 years of human history, only 2 diseases have been eradicated: smallpox and rinderpest
epmy5 TIL that bacteria outnumber human cells in an adult human body by a ratio of 10:1 although these bacteria account for only about 1 to 3 percent of the body's mass
BgrYy TIL McDonald's was 90% owner of Chipotle restaurants until 2006 when they sold their shares for $1.5 Billion. Today Chipotle is worth over $35 Billion and among the 500 most valuable companies on earth. Part of the reason for the sale was disagreement over adding drive thrus to Chipotle locations.
rrPy TIL During the battle of Stalingrad, Mikhail Panikakha had only two Molotov cocktails left after helping repel German attacks. He raised the one to throw when a bullet hit it, setting him on fire. He then took the last bottle, jumped out of the trench and hit the nearest German tank with it.
VMlb0 TIL about Mill Ends Park, the world's tiniest city park. It's a circle 2 feet (0.61 m) across in the median of a street in Portland, Oregon. It was intended as the site for a light pole, but when no light pole appeared, someone planted flowers instead. It was named an official city park in 1976.