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TIL: The discovery of insulin, and the mechanism underlying diabetes, was prompted by the observation that ants were attracted to the urine of dogs that were missing their (surgically removed) pancreas.

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Yp79W TIL the oldest known individual tree in the world is 5,067 years old, yet there are no photos of the tree online, and its location is kept secret to protect it
e0ok4 TIL Phosphogypsum is a common byproduct of fertilizer production. It has very few pratical uses and is radioactive, containing uranium, thorium, radium, radon and polonium. For this reason they are stored indefinitely in Stacks. ONE ton of phosphoric acid produces FIVE tons of phosphogypsum waste.
p8d7G TIL Charles Vance Millar, a rich Canadian financier, made his will one giant practical joke. In it, he left three men who hated one another a join lifetime tenancy in a villa, some protestant ministers $700,000 in Catholic beer stock, and anti-horse racing advocates $25,000 in a Jockey club.
xaOo TIL in the scene in Inglorious Bastards where Dianne Kruger is being strangled it was actually Quentin Tarantino choking her out because he thinks that fake strangling never looks real in movies.
e09GJ TIL about the "tragic mulatto" character which existed in early American entertainment. They were portrayed as a biracial black person who was light enough to pass as white, but was not accepted by either white or black society. They were oftentimes depicted as suicidal and self-hating.