› added 9 years ago

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TIL that a parasite, Toxoplasma Gondii, can change rodent behaviour by reducing their ability to sense feline predators making them easy prey. The parasite can then pass from rodent to cat and then cat to human.

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v1Yer TIL there is no such thing as a 'triangle player' in an orchestra. The person playing the triangle is called a percussionist and masters at least 35 different instruments.
0wy4R TIL The 1929 stock market crash was a result of an unsustainable boom in share prices in the preceding years. The boom in share prices was caused by the irrational exuberance of investors, buying shares on the margin, and over-confidence in the sustainability of economic growth.
PYG5L TIL American chemist Alexander Shulgin personally tested hundreds of drugs, meticulously recording their effects in his lab notebooks. He is also credited with introducing MDMA to psychologists in the late 1970s.
DQnMY TIL about the Inauguration of the last Russian Tsar. Over 1,200 peasants were killed in a crowd crush event caused by Tsar Nicholas II offering a crowd of 500,000 beer and pretzels to win their approval at his inauguration. In response to the tragedy, the Tsar attended a private gala the same night.
LkD7V TIL About “The King who ate himself to death”- King Adolf Frederick of Sweden died after eating a meal consisting of lobster, caviar, sauerkraut, kippers and champagne, which was topped off with 14 servings of his favourite dessert: hetvägg made of semla and served in a bowl of hot milk.