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TIL that in 1943, after a worldwide search, a mouldy cantaloupe in a Peoria, Illinois market was found to contain the best strain of penicillin for mass production

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LQ1XQ TIL all 8 of the most densely populated towns in the US (and 9 of the top 10) are either in New Jersey or New York
VByrD TIL about a soda machine offering 'mystery' drinks operated for nearly 20 years, but no one knew who operated it or kept it stocked.
nW0LW TIL: on 14 November 1941, Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza Garcia proclaimed his daughter Lilian the "Queen of the Army"
grQ5W TIL, while reading about "H.M.S. Pinafore" on Wikipedia, that "The British Tar" is a glee, which is "a type of English part song composed during the Late Baroque, Classical, and early Romantic periods (roughly the Georgian era)." So a glee club is a club for the singing of such songs.
oBbPE TIL that Pablo Picasso carried a revolver loaded with blanks, which he would fire at whoever asked him what his work “meant.”