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TIL that children in China were asked to dress in white fertilizer bags and ordered to stand on a hill to appear as sheep so that local leaders could give the impression to their party superiors that they were prospering.

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rRb5M TIL that broiler chickens raised for breeding must be feed-restricted to prevent them from becoming overweight. One study found that 20% of birds allowed to eat as much as they wanted either died or had to be killed because of severe illness between 11 and 20 weeks of age.
7reDx TIL A WW2 pigeon named Mary of Exeter survived an assassination attempt by a German warhawk, was shot, hit with shrapnel, and survived a bombing of her loft while delivering messages across the English Channel to France.
xVjEo TIL The introduction of iodine in table salt by the Morton Salt Company raised average IQ in the U.S. by 3.5 points
R9Wl TIL the world’s oldest bra was found by archaeologists in a Vienna castle, and the bra was carbon dated at 600 years. That is perplexing because the modern bra is thought to have been invented only about 100 years ago and history books say that bras came after the corset.
d8y4Q TIL The 24 Hours of Le Mans traditionally begins with a "standing start", where drivers run to their car. Feeling this type of start was unsafe, Jacky Ickx opposed it by walking across the track while his competitors ran. He was nearly hit by a car, and another was killed. Ickx won the race.