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TIL The word “shrapnel” comes from Henry Shrapnel, a Major General in the British Army and inventor of the spherical case cannonball.

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o6V7 TIL: While searching for Steve Fossett’s plane crash, at least 8 previously uncharted plane crashes were located.
N7xpN TIL that some deaf people that develop Schizophrenia can have auditory hallucinations and ‘hear’ voices
6ER8J TIL Urine contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium—key nutrients that plants need to grow. Researchers have been studying the removal of bacteria, viruses, and pharmaceuticals in urine to improve the safety of urine-derived fertilizers.
D1dev TIL when John Glenn became the first man to orbit the Earth in 1962, he carried a note that read "I am a stranger. I come in peace. Take me to your leader and there will be a massive reward for you in eternity" translated into several languages, in case he splashed down in the remote South Pacific
LkD90 TIL of the staggering level of American alcohol consumption in the 1800s. It peaked in 1830, at the equivalent of 1.7 bottles of standard-strength whiskey, per person, per week.