› added 9 years ago

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TIL about “token sucking” - someone, generally a homeless person, earns his sustenance by clogging the token receptacle in the subway turnstile with gum or a paperclip. The tokens become backed up in the receptacle and then “sucks them out by placing his lips around the opening and inhaling.”

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l7jdV TIL: Gironima Spana was a central figure in the Spana Prosecution involving her network of female poison merchants. Her network provided poisons to women who wished to be widows. She was taught by her mother who was a professional marriage maker and sold poison to women with abusive husbands
eElg TIL Professor David Nutt was asked to step down as the government’s chief drug advisor after claiming LSD is safer than alcohol
v1Dy8 TIL There are 11 statues of John A MacDonald, Canada's first prime minister, including at the Prime Ministers Path in Baden, Ontario, a collection of statues of all of Canada’s PMs before Kim Campbell
ADK4g TIL Cats do not need to blink on a regular basis to keep their eyes lubricated. Unblinking eyes are probably an advantage when hunting. Cats will, however, squint their eyes, usually as a form of communication expressing affection and ease around another cat or human.
PYJVE TIL parrots kept as pets will go through severe emotional trauma when they're given away, sold, or abandoned, developing destructive behaviors like screaming, aggression and self mutilation, plucking out their feathers In the wild they are extremely social and often mate for life (60-80 years.)