› added 6 years ago

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TIL That in 2017 a conservative estimate of a 100 million sharks were killed by humans, while only 5 humans were killed by unprovoked shark attacks

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GmZ1 TIL that almost every renowned philosopher of Ancient Greece and Rome experienced what we know as “tripping” by being an initiates in the cult of Demeter. Initiates went through an annual rite of passage involving ergot, the founding compound of LSD.
8mKP TIL a fire burned down the warehouse of the animation company behind the Wallace and Gromit films, destroying “the entire history” of the animation series.
R5wk4 TIL Chuck Norris was an Air Force security policeman in 1958, and learned martial arts while stationed in South Korea. Returning to California he tried to become a police officer but had great success opening karate schools and participating in competitions.
VBZ4 TIL that Gandhi once sent a letter to his friend urging him not to go to war. This friend was Hitler.
wLjn7 TIL "healing crystals," which sellers market as a way to "connect to the Earth you're fighting to protect" are predominantly derived from places like Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of Congo (known for lax environmental regulations) or from industrial-scale copper mines.