› added 11 years ago

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TIL the mercury everyone is so scared of in vaccines (thimerosal) is actually ethylmercury, while the toxic mercury which can damage the nervous system is methylmercury. The same way that we drink ethylalcohol (ethanol) but methylalcohol (methanol) will cause you to go blind, or just plain kill you.

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via reddit.com

GBZQ TIL that two attorneys general resigned on a single night, in protest after President Nixon asked them to fire an independent special prosecutor looking into the Watergate scandal. It became known as the Saturday Night Massacre
yVJ1X TIL: Sakamoto Ryōma was an influential samurai who loved the American system and encouraged the Imperial Court to copy it. On the first assassination attempt, he fought off his assailants with a Smith and Wesson revolver. However, he was caught unprepared the second time.
0d0Jp TIL that before his involvment in the Nazi Party, Adolf Hitler was extremely lazy, never had a real job, dropped out of school and was very poor for many years. At one point he was sleeping on park benches and begging for money and later lived at a home for poor men for a few years.
78yDr TIL that asafoetida, a flavoring used in some Indian dishes, is called “devil’s shit” in French, Turkish, and several other languages. Its strong odor dissipates during cooking and it imparts a mild oniony flavor.
GY711 TIL the first Troll doll was created by a danish fisherman who could not afford giving his daughter a christmas gift. When the other children saw it they all wanted one as well.