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It might surprise you that some of the world’s deadliest animals save millions of human lives—one day they might even save yours. In this week’s Today I Learned, National Geographic Emerging Explorer Zoltan Takacs reveals how venomous creatures could be the future of pharmacology.

Read more video.nationalgeographic.com

p8WYA TIL that people & organizations have spent millions of dollars to build an electrical grid in Kenya to have their efforts thwarted by individuals who steal PCP contaminated oil to sell to road side vendors to fry food with.
N7yYQ TIL the Spartan Pausanias was accused of treason for conspiring with the Persians, but seeked refuge in a temple so he couldn't be tried and executed while inside. His mother went to the temple to lay the first brick at the door, which was sealed until he died of starvation
KOj06 TIL of Franz Reichelt,an Austrian-born French tailor, inventor and parachuting pioneer, now sometimes referred to as the Flying Tailor, who is remembered for jumping to his death from the Eiffel Tower while testing a wearable parachute of his own design
d9Wd TIL that Chuck Palahniuk’s grandfather killed his wife and children before turning the shotgun on himself. Chuck’s father hid under the bed and was the only survivor, but was later murdered by his girlfriend’s ex-husband.
neY8o TIL That a study on drinking alcohol found that the amount of shrinkage in the hippocampus — the brain area associated with memory and reasoning — was related to the amount people drank. Those who had four or more drinks a day had almost six times the risk of hippocampal shrinkage as did nondrinkers