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TIL that the English word “taboo” comes from the Polynesian word “tapu”, which means too sacred to touch and therefore off limits

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Oo59R TIL: Einstein’s last words were spoken in German to a nurse who didn’t speak German and are lost for ever. During Einstein's autopsy, the pathologist stole his brain. He kept it for forty years in a tupperware container, before being convinced to return it to Einstein's relatives.
8BZ TIL that IKEA ran the first commercial in the US featuring a homosexual couple. It was shown once and then pulled following bomb threats to the stores.
jaEM TIL: Most people lack the gene to detect the distinctive scent of asparagus in their urine
4X9pR TIL this abandoned, unfinished 50,000 square foot mega mansion on 32 acres in Wisconsin was built by Hollywood Video founder Mark Wattles. It was to feature an indoor sports court/pool and a 60-car subterranean garage. He spent $12 million and then never finished it...
8j68 TIL of Carlos DeLuna, who was wrongly convicted of murder and executed for killing a gas station attendant. The police made no effort to investigate another man named Carlos who looked nearly identical to DeLuna. Evidence of his innocence would have taken less than a day of investigation to uncover