› added 5 years ago

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TIL that despite discovering the cure for scurvy as early as 1497 by Vasco de Gama's crew, it was repeatedly forgotten, discredited, 'rediscovered' and messed around for hundreds of years despite scientific research. It continued killing people till Vitamin C was finally isolated in 1932

emmk T.I.L. that a system called “Perimeter” aka. “Dead Hand” has been online in Russia since 1985. It’s designed to launch an all-out nuclear missile retaliatory attack, if it senses that Russia’s command systems have been attacked and/or shut down without proper authorization.
M7G87 TIL That while some citric acid is derived from lemon juice, the majority of citric acid commercially sold is extracted from a black mold called Aspergillus niger, which produces citric acid after it feeds on sugar
WkX7Y TIL Florida man Arnold Abbott had been feeding street people at a beach weekly from 1991 till he died age 94 in 2019; he refused to stop even when a FL law limiting public food sharing came out in 2014. FLPD showed up when Abbot was passing out food; an officer demanded: "Drop that plate right now."
yB5a TIL that every Icelanders will receive a payout of 215 euro for the sale of one of its three largest banks, Íslandsbanki. Iceland, being the only European nation to fully recover fully from the 2008 crisis, has recently jailed its 26th banker for causing the financial chaos.
r01M TIL that Alan Tudyk, Adam Baldwin, and Nathan Fillion all voiced marines in Halo 3. Their characters were given personalities resembling the characters they played in Firefly.