› added 12 years ago

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TIL Dr. Bernice Eddy warned the NIH that the polio vaccines they were about to release contained live polio virus. They ignored her and released the vaccine anyway, and as a result 40,000 children developed polio. The NIH director who dismissed Dr. Eddy then resigned.

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lvPG TIL that a man spent 121 days in room with 40 venemous snakes in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record of 107 days, only to be told that they no longer maintain that record after achieving it.
DnZD TIL of Giant MacAskill, the largest ‘naturally proportioned’ giant to ever live. Still holding the record for largest chest measurements of any 'non obese’ person, he once lifted a 1000 LB anchor to prove a point.
GYA47 TIL king Gustav III of Sweden commuted the death sentences of a set of twins to life imprisonment if one drank 3 pots of coffee and the other drank 3 pots of tea to test the effects of the newly introduced coffee.
lgV1 TIL of Princess Nora University, the largest women-only university in the world. It has 50,000 students, over 600 buildings, a sustainable design, a library that can hold 5 million books, multiple research hospitals, a convention center, and an automated metro system.
7rmpX TIL Kangaroo “boxing”, in a serious fight, is really the kangaroo grappling for an opening to deliver a powerful kick with its sharp-clawed hind legs. Male kangaroos have thick belly skin to protect against this punishment. But it could easily eviscerate a human.