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TIL that opossums are great at reducing the tick population in a given area. Scientists estimate that a single opossum can kill about 5,000 ticks in a single season.

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Z8omD TIL that Miserere Mei, Deus, a piece of choral music, was a closely guarded secret by the Catholic Church until Mozart went to see it and copied it down off of memory. Instead of being excommunicated like he should have been, Mozart received the Order of the Golden Spur, and it was published.
9Y4NB TIL that Air Transat Flight 236 lost both engines over the Atlantic, and set a glide record for a commercial airliner of 120km as the pilot successfully made an emergency landing at Lajes Air Base in the Azores.
ep7b6 TIL the tradition of sending holiday cards started because Henry Cole wanted “a convenient way for him to speak to his many friends and associates without having to draft long, personalized responses to each.”
5Y69k TIL WD-40 was first used to protect the outer skin of the Atlas missile, the first operational ICBM.
JYJk TIL That author Kurt Vonnegut threatened to sue Pall Mall cigarettes for not killing him.