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TIL There's a type of tick in the U.S. called the 'lone star tick' (Amblyomma americanum) whose bite can make you permanently allergic to red meat and milk. The lone star tick is unique in that it can transmit a molecule that causes alpha-gal syndrome, a food allergy to red meat.

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jxLj TIL that in Texas, the metric for whether or not a mentally retarded person can be executed is based on whether or not they appear to be smarter than the character Lennie Small from John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men”.
R5JE9 TIL that Detroit, once America's 5th largest city at 1.85 million residents in 1957, saw 66 straight years of population loss to a low of 630,000 residents in 2022. This makes it the only US city to drop below 1 million after reaching it. It would see its first reversal of this trend in 2023.
ADp8B TIL that uncooked spaghetti always break into more than two parts, a curious fact that already baffled Nobel-prize winning physicist Richard Feynman. The riddle was only solved last year by scientists who managed to make spaghetti snap into only two parts with a trick.
R5JMw TIL about British Army general and MP, Eyre Coote who lost his seat and was dismissed for "Conduct unbecoming of an officer" in 1815 after being discovered to have entered a school and had paid boys to flog him. He was "acquitted" of criminal charges after donating £1000 to the school.
gby TIL the difference between a poison, a toxin and a venom. A poison is any substance that disturbs an organism’s functions, a toxin is a poison produced biologically and a venom is a toxin that is injected with a bite or sting.