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TIL when his heir died childless, the estate of British scientist James Smithson passed to the U.S. government. American diplomat Richard Rush was sent to England to collect the money, and returned with today’s equivalent of $11M in gold coins, which was used to found the Smithsonian Institution.

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0dRo1 TIL of The Beast of Gévaudan a creature with "formidable teeth and immense tail", believed to have attacked 610 people, resulting in 500 deaths between 1764 and 1767 in the Margeride Mountains of south-central France.
QN0Ad TIL that the world's quietest room, an anechoic chamber located at Orfield Laboratories in Minnesota, can drive people to the point of madness. The room is so quiet people can hear their own blood flowing and even the sound of their organs functioning, which can be disorienting and unsettling.
xVB4k TIL that naturalist William Bartram described finding a "painted vulture" during his travels in Florida in the 1770s. No one else has ever found this supposed Florida bird. It's not known exactly what the "painted vulture" was—it could have been a subspecies or relative of the living king vulture.
e0Q9J TIL Everybody is technically allergic to bee stings, but only 5 to 7.5 % of people are severely allergic. Melittin, which makes up 50% of bee venom's dry weight, is the allergen that causes red blood cells at the sting site to burst and expand. It's the most important ingredient in the venom.
NOXQ TIL of Cardinal von Galen, one of the first public figures to stand up to Hitler. For opposing the killing of the disabled, Hitler planned to kill him after the War.