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167

TIL that New England is the least religious region of the US, despite its Puritan past

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Yp5Nr TIL researchers successfully killed MRSA (the antibiotic resistant superbug) with a blue laser and peroxide. They found a blue light can "bleach" the protective layer of the MRSA membrane which then makes it more vulnerable. This weakened it enough for hydrogen peroxide to finish the job.
MeLXB TIL that the trope of pirates saying "ARRR" was popularised by actor Robert Newton who played Long John Silver in the 1950 Disney film. In Treasure Island, Long John Silver is from the west country and so Newton took slang from the region and exaggerated it. "ooh arr" means "yes"
J16rm TIL the Death Camas plant is so toxic that there is only one known pollinator. The plant is visited by a specialist mining bee, which can tolerate its toxins - others are fatally poisoned. One plant species name is Toxicoscordion venenosum var. venenosum ≈ toxic bulb poisonous poisonous.
KYkAw TIL The Beatles, as we know them today, were only together for 8 years (1962 to 1970). In this time they released a staggering 13 studio albums, totaling 213 songs, with over 100 more being released since their break up
wo8J8 TIL that the reason that "The Office, An American Workplace" (the in-world documentary in The Office TV series) began filming was to document the fallout from the suicide of a Dunder Mifflin employee named Tom Peets (mentioned briefly in S2 E8). The focus was later changed to the Scranton branch.