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TIL Actors that are recovering from a cocaine addiction that have to snort coke on screen can use powdered baby laxative as a prop. The regular stand in for coke on screen, powdered vitamin D is used to cut real cocaine and the familiar flavor can lead to relapses.

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N7oee TIL Ancient romans used to sell their pee, to be turned into ammonia for a variety of uses. Vespasian imposed a tax on urine collection, and responding to those who found it disgusting, he coined the phrase "Pecunia non olet"(money doesn't stink)
wLLJY TIL that Emperor Commodus would club citizens of Rome missing their feet tethered together to death while pretending they were giants in the arena.
0dgEA TIL physicist Walter Jaeger was trying to invent a sensor to detect poison gas. He expected the gas to alter the sensor's electric current but it did not. Frustrated, he lit a cigarette and was surprised to see smoke altered the current. This discovery led to the creation of the modern smoke alarm.
eNp4 TIL the first webcam was invented to monitor a coffee pot. It was for people to avoid pointless trips to the coffee pot by providing a live 128x128 greyscale image of it.
XBnD TIL Warren Buffett made enough money selling Coke Bottles and magazines door to door to buy a 40 acre farm at the age of 14.