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TIL in 1931 a 15 year old went to a hospital in Chicago and was mistakenly given a transfusion of blood from a parrot because the physician misheard the doctor’s instruction to “use her parents’ blood.” The hospital staff frantically searched for a parrot and extracted its blood for injection

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rREp4 TIL A Liger (Lion/Tiger crossbreed) can get up to 800 pounds and 6 feet long. That makes it as big as any prehistoric cat fossil ever found. (Also bred for its skills in magic).
loyQr TIL Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, once advised JFK on a way to overthrow Fidel Castro. Fleming reasoned Castro's trademark beard was his key to power. So he advised JFK to announce that beards attract radiation. Castro would then immediately shave off his off and soon fall from power.
4Xl76 TIL Steven Bradbury won an Olympic Gold Medal in speed skating because all the other competitors fell over
v9w4 TIL that strawberries and cream oatmeal doesn’t have real dried strawberries…they are apple pieces dyed and flavored to taste like strawberries. The blueberries and cream are dyed and flavored figs.
b9ZAp TIL The 1954 animated adaptation of George Orwell's "Animal Farm" was anonymously funded by the CIA. They also influenced the film's development, including changing to a more optimistic ending, and changing certain characters' ideologies. Their involvement was kept hidden for over 20 years.