› added 9 years ago

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TIL in WWI shell shock was often misdiagnosed as “cowardice or lack of underlying character”. This led to more than 200 British soldiers being executed for desertion or leaving their post without authority.

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78WQX TIL that rainwater is almost never pure and that in some areas the individual raindrops form around airborne bacteria.
E1970 TIL of Grietje Scott, who at 90 years old revealed her secret to her family. She was actually a highly decorated member of the Dutch underground in WWII and part of an elite fighting force. She had never told anyone about it and not even her family knew.
KewJ TIL that 2 men in the 1920’s ate nothing but meat for an entire year so doctors could study them … despite consuming high calories and being sedentary all their health markers stayed the same or improved
EgYy0 TIL about the 'zombie ant fungus', A.K.A. Ophiocordyceps unilateralis. The spores can permeate an ants exoskeleton, use it as a source of nutrition and take over its biological controls, forcing it to leave the colony and head for more humid climates to facilitate growth and release more spores.
a8JbM TIL a death row inmate in Tennessee discovered there were untested fingerprints that had been found at the original crime scene. In a last-ditch effort to prove his innocence, he successfully petitioned the courts to run the tests. They were found to be his own fingerprints.