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TIL for several months, the residents of the Italian town of Vastogirardi have had the tires of their cars mysteriously punctured. What was originally thought to have been mafia intimidation was revealed to have been the work of a local dog with gingivitis gnawing on the tires.

Read more theguardian.com

via reddit.com

R799w TIL that H1N1, the influenza strain that caused the 1918 flu pandemic, survived another 40+ years as a seasonal flu bug. It was finally “extinguished” by another flu virus, H2N2, in the 1957 flu pandemic. Even so, a “new” H1N1 emerged 50 years later to cause the 2009 “swine flu” pandemic.
OoQ94 TIL: Switzerland has the 2nd highest ratio of gun owners in the world (1/4), but only .5 gun homicides per 100,000 compared to the U.S's 5 per 100,000.
16prV TIL at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall of Sweden was the first athlete to be disqualified from the Olympics for drug use, after anti-dopng regulations were introduced by the IOC the previous year.
RNN9 TIL In the earliest version of Red Riding Hood she becomes a cannibal, eating her grandmother.
wooL8 TIL Women taking the contraceptive pill can skip periods indefinitely. If you choose to skip the placebo pills each month there is no requirement to take a ‘break’ from the active pills. Ever.