› added 5 years ago

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TIL that Triboulet, jester of Francis I, saved his life thanks to his vivaciousness. After making fun of a king's mistress, he was sentenced to death and had to choose the way he would die. Sharp minded, he asked to die of old age, leaving the King voiceless his sentence was commuted to banishment.

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OodkX TIL that Komodo Dragons are in fact venomous. For decades it was believed that their bite was dangerous because of toxic bacteria in their mouths.
dxDd TIL of the 20,000 Japanese soldiers fighting in the Battle of Iwo Jima in WWII, only 1,083 survived.
8aQrG TIL during the construction of the Metro Red Line subway in Los Angeles, 2,000 fossils were discovered, some as old as 16.5 million years old. These included 39 species of extinct marine fish that had never before been discovered.
GYyrJ TIL Paul McCartney says he saw a tv show which claimed Penny Lane featured 9 simultaneous piano parts, while he remembered there being only 1. He was inspired by the show to overlay multiple instruments in his latest songs.
ANgyl TIL Naegleria fowleri (brain-eating amoeba) was first identified in Czechoslovakia in 1963 and caused the biggest epidemic so far killing 16 young people