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TIL that in the 1800s, chemists working with willow bark extracts discovered that salicylic acid is responsible for the analgesic (pain-reducing) and antipryretic (fever-reducing) effects. In 1893, a German chemist converted salicylic acid to its less acidic ester, know as Asprin.

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rRJWe TIL in 1919, an English General, Reginald Dyer ordered a force of 50 soldiers to open fire on 10,000 Indians peacefully protesting the Rowlatt act in Amritsar, India. Thousands died by bullets and many jumped into wells and died. The House of Lords honoured him with the motto "Saviour of Punjab"
XE9bD TIL The oldest houseplant in the world is an Eastern Cape Cycad in London's Kew Gardens that has been growing since 1775
oRWZ8 TIL that 70% of trees felled by beavers fall towards the water.
Gma7 TIL the difference between a cemetery and a graveyard is cemeteries are considered burial grounds while the older term graveyards is considered burial grounds attached to a church.
jNrXE TIL of Wichard von Alvensleben, a German Wehrmacht Officer who, in 1945, commanded his soldiers to protect 140 Allied POWs from being executed by the SS. The POWs were then set free.