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TIL European demand for wildly popular sugar sweetened beverages fueled the slave trade of the 18th century colonial economy.

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xV9Go TIL that in Kuwait in 1991, ten Iraqi soldiers surrendered to two American journalists that they came across. They were cold and underfed and had buried their guns. They wanted to be taken prisoner so they could get food and water. The journalists obliged and then took them to a Saudi army unit.
J1QaB TIL that contrary to popular belief, having shorter hair doesn't prevent, nor remove hair lice as the bugs attach themselves to the scalp, rather than the hair follicles.
xoQo TIL Quarters minted before 1964 are worth about $5 when melted down
P11PV TIL scientists once swapped DNA cells between a human zygote and a mouse zygote to see what would happen. While the mouse zygote was able to reprogram and become a mouse, the human zygote "soon died" in every attempt, with no clear view on what would form.
YpljG TIL that a pilot named Chalmer Goodin was originally intended to be the pilot who first broke the sound barrier, but the USAF chose Chuck Yeager when he demanded $150,000 (1.7 million today) to attempt it.