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139

TIL Robert Recorde invented the symbol ’=’ in 1557 to avoid having to write “is equal to” over and over again.

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LQMem TIL the Manchineel Tree, is one of the most toxic trees in the world. Contact with its sap can cause blisters, and damage paint on cars. Ingestion of the fruit can cause severe gastroenteritis with bleeding, shock, bacterial superinfection, and compromise airways due to edema.
78kOr TIL that between 15% and 30% of people have the photic sneeze reflex, which causes those afflicted to sneeze at the sun, sometimes multiple times in a row
XEalR TIL: Rabbits, and other animals such as deer, have big white tails to confuse predators. A sharp turn will hide the "bullseye", confusing the pursuer.
jKvQ TIL that the engineers of the Brooklyn Bridge, expecting to be supplied with sub-par materials, overbuilt the bridge to the point where even when supplied with inferior cabling the bridge remained stronger than it needed to be by a factor of five.
vAv8 TIL During the filming of the climactic flood scene in Noah’s Ark (1928), the great volume of water used was so overwhelming (600,000 gallons) that three extras drowned, one was so badly injured that his leg needed to be amputated, and a number suffered broken limbs and other serious injuries