› added 8 years ago

553

TIL That pistachios can spontaneously combust.

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via reddit.com

DQnPr TIL Vincent van Gogh had a known habit of sucking on his brushes to swap colors. It is widely believed that the lead poisoning partly led to his severe mental decline, resulting in his famously cutting off his ear, and ultimately shooting himself in the chest.
VBBBG TIL that Harambe’s mother, only full brother, and two of his half siblings were killed when a tub of wet chlorine tablets was left by a space heater. The toxic fumes were blown into the gorilla enclosure and killed the four gorillas.
6EBpZ TIL Suzuki Hayabusa, the fastest bike ever when introduced, was named so after the peregrine falcon, which can dive at up to 300 km/h (close to the bikes top speed), and also because it preys on blackbirds, also the name of the then fastest bike the Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird.
7x0x TIL that the first successful surgery to repair an anal fistula was performed on Louis XIV in 1686; anal fistula surgery then became highly fashionable, with members of the royal court lining up to undergo the procedure (whether they needed it or not) or faking it by placing bandages on their bums
VMXj4 TIL that the Church of Scientology had a prolific espionage group called the "Guardian's Office" that was dedicated to infiltrating the United States government to steal or destroy confidential records and spread propaganda.