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TIL On October 23, 1999, BASE jumper and stuntwoman Jan Davis made a protest jump off El Capitan to lift Yosemite’s BASE jumping ban. She died in the process. The ban remains intact.

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pYNJe TIL there is a gene (ABCC11) possessed by a large portion of East Asians that not only gives them dry earwax, but also prevents them from developing body odor.
KZx9 TIL that It’s illegal for drug companies to advertise to consumers almost everywhere in the world. The only exceptions are the US and New Zealand.
5YlkB TIL Mozart had a pet starling, which he bought after hearing him sing an excerpt from one of his pieces. After the starling died, Mozart wrote a humorous poem, which he read at its elaborate funeral.
1LND TIL the city of Minneapolis has more than 11 miles of “skyway” connecting nearly every building in the downtown area. This includes apartment buildings and even a college, so that some residents never have to leave the system of interconnected structures in the course of their day-to-day lives.
E1nJX TIL that the ancient Romans used concrete with volcanic ash mixed in, which allowed for much stronger crack-resistant concrete