› added 7 years ago

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TIL we have three types of tears - basal, reflex and psychic. Psychic tears, the ones we produce when we are sad, have a different chemical make up than the other two and contain a natural painkiller, leucine enkephalin, which is perhaps why we feel better after we cry.

j69JN TIL that nine year old John Clem enlisted in the Union Army during the American Civil War, shot a Confederate Colonel and was promoted to Sergeant by they age of 12, and retired at the rank of Major General in 1915.
4kllR TIL that on 13 July 1985, the US leg of Live Aid was opened by a complete unknown called Bernard Watson - an 18yo high school graduate from Miami Beach with no professional musical experience. He slept outside the stadium for a week to convince Bill Graham - the concert's promoter - to let him play.
JmGv TIL that The Day After, a 1983 made- for- TV movie about nuclear war and it’s horrific effects, was watched by about 100 million people when it aired. President Reagan was left deeply depressed after viewing it, the film is now seen as having pushed him to start advocating nuclear disarmament
r6b0 TIL Haribo released sugar free gummy bears that caused many costumers to have gastrointestinal distress. Turns out their sugarless sweetener, Lycasin/Malitol, can become a rather effective laxative in doses of 40g or more. Their 5lb bags contained a whopping ~2267g.
AKYg TIL there’s an empty 26-story skyscraper in Rhode Island with no tenants that has been appraised as having “no value.”