› added 5 years ago

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TIL Angelina Jolie had a mastectomy due to having an 87% risk of breast cancer and a 50% risk of ovarian cancer. Her chance of developing breast cancer dropped from 87% to under 5% after the mastectomy.

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x65A7 TIL that in the 63 years since Niger gained independence from France, it has only had one peaceful transfer of power (2021).
PYgEw TIL the noble gas Xenon can be used as a near perfect general anesthetic. It works fast, has minimal side effects, protects your brain, is environmentally friendly, and can be used at normal air pressure. The only downside is it's expensive and can't be synthesized.
awrrN TIL that the man responsible for inventing leaded gasoline, Thomas Midgley Jr, was also accredited for the introduction of the ozone depleting refrigerant Freon. Later in life, Midgley contracted Polio and subsequently died when he was strangled by the very device he designed to get him out of bed.
e0xg4 TIL the Milano cookie was created as a result of Pepperidge Farm's original cookie the Naples, a single vanilla wafer with dark chocolate filling on top. When shipped to warmer climates, the cookies would end up stuck together. The company resolved the problem by sandwiching Naples cookies together.
6EBL8 TIL Pope Urban VII was the shortest serving Pope in history; living only 12 days after his election. In his short reign, he instituted the world’s first known smoking ban, threatening to excommunicate anyone who "took tobacco in the porchway of or inside a church”. He died of Malaria.