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TIL that the Pinkerton Detective Agency known for its union-busting activities in the 19th century and appearances in several works of media set in that period still exists

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Orpe TIL that the Shift key is called that because it used to physically shift the entire typing apparatus in typewriters in order to access the capital letter on each typebar
W7MwX TIL the traffic stop lights in Akureyri, Iceland are shaped like hearts
x7Lk TIL the city with the highest crime rate in the US is East St. Louis, IL; its murder rate is 101 per 100k residents, which is more than double that of the city with the number 2 murder rate, Gary, IN, and also higher than the country of Honduras, whose murder rate is the highest in the world.
8agp8 TIL That spicy foods are spicy because they trigger certain cells inside the tongue that are the same type of cell that detect extreme heat, and it has nothing to do with taste.
yQVlM TIL that 12,000 bears are farmed for their bile in Asia which is used in traditional Chinese medicine and generates $2bn per year. Farming always involves surgery on the bears to insert a catheter or to cut a hole through the abdomen by which the bile leaks. Bear bile has no medicinal effect.