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TIL SETI scientists keep bottles of champagne on ice wherever they’re observing, just in case

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via reddit.com

WkrYL TIL that in the 1700s, pills made out of the element antimony were taken orally as a laxative for constipated bowels. Once they passed through, they were retrieved from the excrement to be used again. Some families passed down the same pill from one generation to the next.
N7daE TIL that before the coup d'état in 1953 Mohammad Mosaddegh was regarded as the leading champion of secular democracy and resistance to foreign domination in Iran’s modern history, and that the coup partly took place because Iran nationalized its oil industry.
loJdB TIL that NYC only has a handful of alley ways. And of those, only one is really suitable for filming in. So every time you see a New York alley way on screen it's Cortlandt Alley.
NDYN TIL that tracksuits, particularly Adidas, are so popular in Russia because after the fall of the Soviet Union, cheap tracksuit clothing flooded the Russian market. The Russian people, who were unaware of western fashion norms, loved the comfortable and cheap clothing, leading to huge popularity.
KLWw TIL the plastic used to make Legos is the same type of plastic used to make hard hats