› added 3 years ago

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TIL that the former Secretary General of the UN and later President of Austria, Kurt Waldheim, was an accused Nazi who as President was put on a Watch List by the US as an 'potential undesirable'

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PYbKJ Today I learned that Monarch butterfly caterpillars live off of Milkweed, which is toxic and should kill them. They store it in their bodies and while becoming a butterfly the toxic is transferred to their wings as a defense mechanism
VMVOZ TIL Agatha Christie's in-depth description of using Thallium to poison people in her novel, The Pale Horse, inspired several people to poison others in real life. In some instances, medical professionals who had read the book recognized the symptoms when others had not.
EgoJd TIL The famous zodiac ceiling design, depicting over 2500 stars, at Grand Central Station was accidentally painted on backward.
RKk1 TIL in 2012 the largest breast cancer foundation in the United States, Susan G Komen, attempted to withdraw funding for Planned Parenthood for mammograms, the diagnostic and screening tool for breast cancer.
eXmL TIL that an Indian girl invented a bicycle without pedals that can travel 60km on 10kg of compressed air.