› added 5 years ago

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TIL that when distilling, the alcohol comes out in three stages: "heads", which are highly flavored but harsh, followed by "hearts" which is very pure alcohol. The two are blended to create the specific spirit. Last come the "tails", which is low-grade alcohol, which is typically distilled again.

xE55 TIL an Indian flight attendant hid the passports of American passengers on board a hijacked flight to save them from the hijackers. She died while shielding three children from a hail of bullets.
5YrQ9 TIL that Ally's Law is legislation passed by several U.S. states that requires stores to allow people with certain medical conditions access to employee restrooms. It was named after a 14 year old girl with Crohn’s Disease who soiled herself in a mall after being denied access to a store restroom.
abDZ TIL Giant Rats have been trained to sniff out 14000 landmines and other unexploded arsenal. The rats, which undergo nine months of training, are light enough to not trigger the explosives. They literally work for peanuts!
Yp0pd TIL the oldest known depiction of Jesus is graffiti of a man venerating a crucified man with the head of a donkey, accompanied by the caption “Alexamenos worships his god”
yg7V TIL women were not the first choice as telephone operators. Prior to September 1, 1878, when a woman named Emma Nutt became the first female operator, boys were the preferred choice. It soon became apparent, however, that boys would insult, curse at, and prank the customers.