› added 8 years ago

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TIL There were as many as 60,000,000 (60 million) bisons in 1800. In 1900, there were only 300 left due to mass-hunting. A handful of ranchers saved the species from extinction. Today, the number of bisons is about 500,000. However, only 15 to 25 thousand of these are pure bisons and not hybrids.

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r0E1 TIL that a 1964 Olympic champion, Ewa Kłobukowska, failed the newly-introduced gender test before the European Cup in 1967 and was consequently banned from competing and stripped of her records; a year later, she gave birth to her first child.
7rNKb TIL Diabetes increases the risk for foot ulcers and amputation. People with diabetes that have nerve damage in their feet and toes often don't notice minor cuts, sores, or blisters in these areas
w0m1 TIL people used to be given malaria to cure syphilis. The syphilis was unable to survive the high temperature from the malaria induced fever.
J1w81 TIL of the U.S. Navy's Nasty-class fast patrol boats, which were Norwegian-designed and used for covert operations during the Vietnam war
Q8Xk TIL that the Lord of the Rings novels were written as if they were translated to English, and the actual common tongue of the books is called Westron.