› added 9 years ago

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TIL Taurine, a common ingredient in energy drinks, was first isolated from the bile of an ox, but now is synthesized in labs. Cat food is required by law to contain taurine, since cats without a taurine-rich diet will go blind, and lose their hair and teeth.

0wbBp TIL Most of the Cambodians did not even know that Pol Pot was the head of Khmer Rouge until his communist friends from China “insisted” him to show his face to the world as the leader of Cambodia. Even his family members who were working in the fields did not know he was running the country.
5R0p TIL that an Apollo astronaut lost his wedding ring during his trip to the moon… and found it again during a spacewalk.
VMDe8 TIL the passenger pigeon once had a population of 3-5 billion birds in North America. Hunters killed tens of thousands of them every day, then ignored calls to protect them when their numbers dwindled, until the last wild one was shot and stuffed in 1902, and the last captive one died in 1912.
n5YW TIL on September 11, 1857, a wagon train heading through Utah toward California was attacked by a Mormon Militia. The militia had disguised themselves as Indians, but once it was suspected that their cover was blown, the Mormons feigned a truce and slaughtered 120 men, women, and children.
neKNB TIL Philadelphia Cream Cheese was invented in New York and has never been produced in Philadelphia. It's name is was a 1880s marketing strategy because at the time Philadelphia was known for high quality dairy.