› added 10 years ago

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TIL that most ‘wasabi’ sold outside Japan is really horseradish with green food coloring added. If it contains '5%’ wasabi plant, they can call it 'wasabi’. The part added is usually the leaf, which does not have the wasabi flavor at all.

1WlD TIL Beyoncé requires $900 worth of titanium drinking straws to drink a special alkaline water to be served at exactly 21 degrees in every dressing room where she performs.
D1o7e TIL about Deep Springs College, a two year, ~26 student college located on a rural California ranch. Tuition is free but students are expected to work on the farm year-round, isolated from all technology and society.
E1xo7 TIL that after their famed snow run, Balto and his fellow sled dogs were sold to a freak show in L.A. After over 2 years living in horrible conditions, they were rescued by the efforts of the entire city of Cleveland, OH.
X0GrP TIL in 1916, Woodrow Wilson ran for re-election on the slogan "He kept us out of war," promising to maintain neutrality during World War I. But shortly after his surprise win, he led the US into the war in 1917, sparking significant backlash and dramatically shifting the nation's foreign policy.
dD5LQ TIL: The US developed the chemical compound Cyanogen Chloride for use in WW2 against Japan. It is a highly toxic blood agent that could penetrate gas masks. Truman decided against using it and opted for the atom bomb. It is now listed in the Chemical Weapons Convention and has never been deployed.