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TIL there is a protein in the saliva of vampire bats that prevents blood from clotting, enabling them to drink as much as they need. It is called Draculin

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b68Y0 TIL the highest-ranking officer killed on either side of the U.S. Civil War was Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston. He died during the Battle of Shiloh on April 6, 1862. Jefferson Davis believed the loss of Johnston “was the turning point of our fate.”
7rYpO TIL that the original First Edition of Roald Dahl’s “Charlie & the Chocolate Factory” didn’t have Oompa Loompas, but an African pygmy tribe that he “rescued” from Africa.
oBwY TIL that during Argentina’s dictatorship, opponents to the regime were drugged, flown out over the Atlantic, and pushed out of planes alive with weights attached to their feet so no bodies would be found as evidence.
EVJ7 TIL a young child was separated from his mother, and was consequently adopted by an australian family. He tracked her down as an adult by matching hazy memories with landmarks on Google Earth
neg0W TIL that actor, director, and producer Orson Welles refused admission into Harvard at age 16 so he could travel. When he landed in Dublin he convinced everyone that he was a famous Broadway star and began producing plays. When he grew bored of the farce, he went to North Africa to draw pictures.