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TIL that humans do to horseshoe crabs what conspiracy theorists claim aliens do to humans. We capture the crabs in huge numbers, drain their blood, and then return them to the ocean.

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dD5Z7 TIL an 1854 London cholera outbreak was curbed by a man who defied the day's medical beliefs. Dr John Snow, father of modern epidemiology, traced the outbreak to a tainted water pump. The pump handle was removed, basically ending outbreak. The theory that disease spread by "bad air" soon unraveled.
awOPJ TIL that peanut butter was originally created for people in health spas and sanitariums as a protein rich food that didn't require chewing. Rich visitors popularized it amongst their friends and it was initially seen as luxury food.
M7rN8 TIL The Spanish Empire developed a long term plan to conquer China in the 16th century, a crucial part of the plan was to encourage mixed marriages between natives and settlers to turn China Hispanic and so easier to rule over.
pY6gO TIL that in the 1928 Olympics, a rower named Bobby Pearce stopped in the middle of the quarter final race in order to let a family of ducks pass his lane, allowing one of his opponents to pull ahead. He still managed to get first place out of 8 people and went on to win gold in the finals.
R7887 TIL About Gap Creationism, a Theory of the Bible Where a Large Period of Time Exists Between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, God Creating the Earth to the Creation of Light. This Is Where Some Theorists Believe Events Such as Dinosaurs and the Ice Age Exists in the Bible.