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TIL TurboTax maker Intuit funnels millions to lobby AGAINST easier tax returns

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VGvm TIL that Cannabaceae, a family of flowering plants, includes not only Cannabis, but also Humulus (better known as hops), a main ingredient in beer.
DQEYv TIL after ABC executives & producers encouraged Margaret Cho to go on a crash diet, while filming her TV series All-American Girl in 1994, she lost 30 lbs (14 kg) in 2 weeks. This resulted in her hospitalization for kidney failure & led to major health issues that continued for years after the show.
D1ZgP TIL as a kid, Ice-T had his bike stolen. He told his father about it; he simply shrugged and said: "Well, then, you ain't got no bike." Ice-T then stole parts from various bicycles and assembled "three or four weird-looking, brightly-painted bikes" from the parts. His father never even noticed.
oRAX7 Today I learned that the green and yellow on the Brazilian flag correspond to a tribute to the royal houses of Portugal and Austria respectively. These colors appeared on the Brazilian Empire flag and remain on the current Brazilian flag.
8aXA4 TIL there are about 1,500 species of cicadas known. There are those that appear yearly in midsummer, and there are also the so-called "periodic" cicadas. They appear at prime number intervals - 7 years, 13 years and 17 years. Once every 221 years, the 13-year cycle and 17-year cycle cicadas overlap.