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TIL the Talmud instructs that no boy should have foreskin removed if two brothers had died from complications of the procedure. By the 12th century, this was said to be based on maternal descent. Rabbinic texts likely offer the earliest recorded evidence for hemophilia, the genetic blood disorder.

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XEGYX TIL of a parasitic fungus called cordyceps that infects ants. Once a spore finds a host it grows a network of roots inside, delivering chemicals that will eventually give the fungus full control of the ant, using the body to reach a suitable place to grow. It anchors down with its jaws, permanently.
l7b95 TIL that during the Revolutionary War, lower Westchester County, NY became a lawless "neutral ground" between British and American forces, where civilians endured constant raids and pillaging because neither side could maintain order. Amidst the chaos, residents "feared everybody whom they saw."
mxEjx TIL that Steve Jobs had the only form of pancreatic cancer that was treatable and curable, but relied heavily on alternative medication, which largely attributed to his death.
x60Pb TIL Dr. Pepper promised a free can to everyone in the US (except Slash and Buckethead) if Guns N' Roses released "Chinese Democracy" in 2008, but faced a lawsuit when they couldn't deliver after the album's release.
neYMr TIL about the Crypt of Civilization, one of the first modern time capsules, sealed in 1940 in Georgia. Modeled after the Egyptian tombs of the pharaohs, it will be opened in 8113 AD.