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TIL in a 1945 Alexander Fleming warned that massive use of penicillin could lead to the propagation of mutant forms of bacteria that would resist the drug.

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ADK4g TIL Cats do not need to blink on a regular basis to keep their eyes lubricated. Unblinking eyes are probably an advantage when hunting. Cats will, however, squint their eyes, usually as a form of communication expressing affection and ease around another cat or human.
5gZQ TIL that in 1863, Jules Verne wrote “Paris in the 20th Century,” a manuscript which predicted everything from glass skyscrapers to feminism to a statistical rise in illegitimate births; his publisher advised him against publishing it as it “broke no new ground” and was “unbelievable”
BgveW TIL Sam White, a Virginia Civil War collector, was killed in 2008 when a 140 year old high explosive cannonball he was restoring detonated in his driveway. The explosion was powerful enough to send chunks of shrapnel up to 1/4 mile away. There were 18 more cannonballs in his driveway at the time.
a8Dwy TIL that in 2012, The Doors' song "Break On Through (To The Other Side)" was played on planet Mars each morning during the NASA Mars Curiosity mission.
awX4J TIL Johann Rudolf Wyss, editor and son of the author of The Swiss Family Robinson, also wrote the text for the former Swiss national anthem.