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TIL that alchemy was illegal in many European countries from the Middle Ages to the early modern period because rulers were afraid of undermining the gold standard and corrupting the gold supply.

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vGa8 TIL the vultures in Disney’s ‘The Jungle Book’ were originally meant to be voiced by The Beatles until John Lennon insisted they weren’t “going to sing for Mickey f—ing Mouse”. Still, Disney kept a lot of likeness to the band in the characters.
x69Qw TIL that "Wolfman Jack" from the 1973 film “American Graffiti” was a real disc-jockey named Robert Smith who was active for over three decades. The film’s extreme financial success provided him with regular income for life until his death at 57 in 1995.
DQKRr TIL that the British actor Harry H. Corbett famous for starring in the sitcom Steptoe and Son, reportedly killed two Japanese soldiers in hand to hand combat during World War Two.
e0Mvg TIL The minimum sound threshold a human ear drum can detect is 1x10^-12 watts/square meter. To put in perspective just how sensitive the human ear is we could scale up, so in order to detect a minimum of 1 newton (0.2 pounds) of force, an ear drum would be roughly the entire surface area of England.
VM8AQ TIL the sex of alligator hatchlings is based purely on temperature while incubating. At 86F or lower, the babies will all be female; at 93F or higher, they will all be male. The mother can sense these changes in temperature and will alter the nest to maintain an optimum temperature.