› added 11 years ago

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TIL that in 1898, a Bayer businessman named a drug they’d developed, “Heroin,” as it was expected to be a heroic cure for tuberculosis. Ironically, illicit heroin use later contributed to an epidemic resurgence of the disease.

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7r5pp TIL about a golf course that straddles the Swedish/Finnish border. Hitting the ball from the tee on the sixth hole means your ball will technically fly for just over an hour, as it crosses the time zone between countries.
Y7nmA TIL The US military once accidentally killed over 6,000 sheep with nerve gas when a weapons test went wrong
JYe71 TIL that in approximately 8000 BC, the Mesopotamians began using clay tokens to count their agricultural and manufactured goods. Later they began placing these tokens inside large, hollow clay containers (bulla, or globular envelopes) which were then sealed.
PRrw TIL Eight-year-old Gabi Mann of Seattle, Washington receives gifts from crows in her garden. She feeds the crows regularly and little “treasures” are given in return including a miniature silver ball, a black button, a blue paper clip, a yellow bead, a blue Lego piece, and a pearl colored heart.
N7G71 TIL that Alec Baldwin is a direct descendant of Mayflower passenger John Howland, and thus is a 14-generation American.