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TIL In 1910, the Diamond Match Company patented the 1st nonpoisonous match in the U.S., which used a safe chemical called sesquisulfide of phophorous. United States President Taft publicly asked Diamond Match to release their patent for the good of mankind. They did on January 28, 1911

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Lkge9 TIL that FDR’s grandfather, Warren Delano, made the Roosevelt family fortune by smuggling opium into China throughout the 19th century. A “fair, honorable, and legitimate” trade, according to him.
XKMj TIL of Washoe (chimpanzee), the first non-human to use Amercian Sign Language. When Washoe’s caretaker returned to work after a miscarriage, Washoe ignored her. The caretaker then signed “MY BABY DIED”, to which Washoe replied “CRY”, simulating a tear running down the caretaker’s face.
gMVQX TIL Julia Louis-Dreyfus made her film debut in a movie about a kid named Harry Potter who discovers he lives in a world of witches and wizards. Julia Louis-Dreyfus played a nymph.
xV4o5 TIL that North Korea has a population of 25.5 million people. That means its population is slightly larger than Australia’s and it has more people than two thirds of the world’s countries (even after accounting for territories and dependencies listed separately in this data)
kvLB TIL animals have been shown to plan ahead. This was shown by a chimp who collected rocks to later throw at people when he got annoyed.