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TIL Concerned about the number of cobras in Delhi, British colonial officials created a bounty, only to discover secret cobra farms created to collect the bounty. When the officials shut down the program the farms released their snakes, meaning they had far more cobras than before they started.

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X0o5r TIL that in 2022 scientists researching life’s origins observed that rocks known as basaltic glasses (usually found where lava is quenched or where meteorite impacts cool) were able to spontaneously link individual RNA letters - nucleoside triphosphates, into RNA strands up to 300 letters long.
W8X4 TIL That a batch of crunchy Cheetos at the Frito-Lay factory accidentally didn’t get dusted with cheddar. A Mexican janitor took the botched batch home and added chili powder to them. He then pitched this recipe to the CEO. Thus, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos were born.
oBkoE TIL that when British scientists discovered homosexual behavior in penguins in 1911, they were so shocked that they published the study in Greek so it would remain accessible to only a few scientists.
VMRp8 TIL of Salomon Klass, a Finnish Jewish captain was nominated for the German Iron Cross who stopped a Soviet counterattack 7 times during the Continuation War between Finland, Germany and the USSR. He was among three Finnish Jews to get nominated for the award, they all refused it.
rvQM TIL that “Chinese” is not just “Mandarin” and “Cantonese”, but at least 7 distinct language groups, or hundreds of local varieties, many of which are not mutually intelligible