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TIL Alcatraz was the only federal prison at the time to offer hot-water showers for its inmates. The prison staff reasoned that prisoners acclimated to hot water would not be able to withstand the freezing waters of the San Francisco bay during an escape attempt.

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MeL1K TIL the world's first scottish-zombie-christmas-musical was released in 2018
5YW4D TIL mushrooms are grown in compost comprised of hay, straw and animal manure (TV Series 'How its made' say horse manure and 'How do they do it?' say chicken). So are mushrooms still suitable for vegans?
J1de8 TIL Nathaniel Alexander, an African American living in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1911, patented the folding chair. His design included a book rest that was usable for the person sitting in the seat behind and was ideal for church or choir use.
KYZ0Q TIL, unlike most birds, kiwis have horrible eyesight and are frequently prone to ophthalmological issues. As a result, they naturally rely so heavily on other senses that some have been found to have survived perfectly well albeit completely blind in the wild for years.
jaeX TIL of the Guinea Worm. In 1986, it infected 3.5 million people . Now it is down to 2 cases in 2016. It stands to be the second globally eradicated infectious disease in history, after smallpox.