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TIL of the Mani pulite, a 1990s Italian corruption scandal that implicated over half the parliament and members of over 400 city and town councils.

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YpX0G TIL Uranus and Neptune are not "Gas Giants" as is commonly believed, but belong to a separate category of giant planets called "Ice Giants." This is because less than 20% of their mass is made up of hydrogen and helium. True gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn are over 90% hydrogen and helium.
AD9Lx TIL of the Semmelweis reflex, a tendency to reject evidence that contradicts existing beliefs. Documented when doctors refused to wash their hands from autopsies to delivery rooms despite evidence this decreases mortality.
b6LmN TIL - 50% of Led Zeppelin (John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page) played on Donovan's 1966 hit, "Sunshine Superman."
jNyQn Today I learned there is a global population of 50 endemic Marsican brown bears in the Abbruzzo region, Italy. Despite conservation efforts, the critically endangered population continues to dwindle.
OdER TIL that due to budget issues, the Lord of the Rings trilogy was briefly planned as one film. Helm’s Deep and Saruman were cut, Rohan and Gondor merged with Éowyn as Boromir’s sister, etc. Upset by the idea of “cutting out half the good stuff,” Peter Jackson left Miramax and went to New Line Cinema.