› added 8 months ago

29

Til the opium wars started because China wanted to stop the drugs coming in

Read more britannica.com

via reddit.com

NXvkE TIL Green Tea consumption might damage the liver. This is thought to be caused by EGCG, a naturally-occurring chemical in the tea leaves, which is healthy in low doses - but kills liver cells in high doses
KQw9 TIL that the youngest American serviceman in World War Two was 12-year-old Calvin Graham, U.S. Navy. He was wounded during the battle of Guadalcanal, and given a Dishonorable Discharge for lying about his age to enlist. His veterans benefits were later restored by an act of Congress.
kaBd TIL Greedo’s lines in Episode IV aren’t unintelligible nonsense: he’s actually speaking a form of a language called Quechua, which has almost 9 million native speakers
m1KgP TIL that bears maintain muscle mass during hibernation by recycling urea - the nitrogenous waste normally removed by urination
OoYN7 TIL that Shirley Temple hated Shirley Temples