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TIL the greatest peacetime maritime disaster is the sinking of MV Doña Paz in 1987 with 4386 dead, almost 3 times Titanic's casualties (1496). The greatest wartime disaster is Wilhelm Gustloff in 1945 (9343 dead).

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j6B9R TIL that Harry Shearer, famed voice actor of a slew of Simpsons characters including Mr Burns, Waylon Smithers, and Principal Skinner, had his first acting role in an Abbot and Costello film. He played a small role in Abbott and Costello Go To Mars (1953).
gM4pb TIL human decomposition begins 4 minutes after death, its called autolysis, or self-digestion. Blood circulation and respiration stop. Excess carbon dioxide causes an acidic environment, causing membranes in cells to rupture. Enzymes begin eating the cells from the inside out.
JY4lV TIL when Secretariat (winner of the triple crown in 1973) died, his body was sent to the University of Kentucky for an autopsy. They found his heart weighed an astounding 22 pounds! The average weight of a mature Thoroughbred’s heart is a mere eight pounds.
GAWK1 TIL about Maria Spelterini, who in 1876 became the first (and only) woman to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope. She crossed several more times with increasingly difficult handicaps: peach baskets strapped to her feet, blindfolded, and with her wrists and ankles shackled together.
epeQk TIL about Salieri syndrome where people with it are often mildly talented people in larger organizations in a position to help you — but instead they undermine your success.