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TIL that although you can buy different grades of isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol, 70% is actually most effective for disinfecting; the added water helps it to dissolve more slowly, penetrate cells, and kill bacteria.

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07K5 TIL That the word “bedlam”, meaning chaos, is derived from the infamous Bedlam insane asylum established in 1247. It was notorious for its brutal treatment of the mentally ill, and for allowing fee paying spectators to watch the “bedlam”.
Br8jL TIL in 1972 the US Congress established the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), to provide policy-makers with a better means of understanding complex science, and the many technology concerns of the day. It was dismantled in 1995 for being biased and unnecessary.
6NGm TIL in 1924 there was a steam powered car which could reach over 100 miles per hour, and it achieved about fifteen miles per gallon of kerosene with negligible emissions.
9wJ5X TIL darker skin people need more sunlight to make vitamin D. One experiment where a light skinned person was in sunlight for 8 hours saw their vitamin D concentration go up by 50x while a dark skinned person saw no change. They needed 5-10 times the sunlight length and then only saw a 30x change.
rNBWx TIL that an accused swindler won the lottery. Gérard Lhéritier's company Aristophil closed in 2015 after French government said it conned 21,000 investors. Lhéritier won €170m from EuroMillions in 2012 and invested €40m in his company, which his lawyer says is proof that Aristophil is legit.