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TIL barns are painted red because red paint is cheap. The paint is cheap because iron is plentiful, and iron is plentiful because it is the final element formed out of a star’s death.

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RXKa TIL what happens when we drink sea water: A kidney can’t make urine from a concentration of salts of more than 2%. Seawater is made of 3% salt, so if we drink it the kidneys have to use existing water from our body to dilute the extra salt, which in turn makes us even thirstier.
E1WZp TIL from 1975 to 1998, a version of the Confederate battle flag appeared in the coat of arms and flag of Americana, São Paulo, a city settled by Confederate expatriates.
nW7r TIL 61 yo Cliff Young ran an ultramarathon and broke the record by two days. He had no formal training, ran with no sleep, and beat sponsored, young athletes. He remarked that the race “wasn’t easy.”
yQKwJ TIL about 20% of Greenland's population (56,186) have attempted suicide.
7rrZb A beluga whale living in captivity with a pod of bottlenose dolphins has learned their language of whistles and clicks, scientists believe.