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TIL Japan’s occupation of Hong Kong back in WWII caused the population to drop from 1.6 million to 600,000 in just three years.

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aPoN TIL that hat making in the past involved prolonged exposure to mercury vapours, causing poisoning which symptoms are sensory impairment (vision, hearing, speech), and a lack of coordination. this inspired terms like “Mad as a hatter” and of course, the mad hatter of Alice in wonderland.
jNaZE TIL of a woman who nearly lost custody of her three children when DNA tests in a paternity test proved her ex-husband was the father, but ruled her out as the mother. She had a rare condition called chimerism, where she absorbed her paternal unborn twin in the womb, and carried two sets of DNA.
grjJ7 TIL the codex, the precursor to modern books, emerged in the 1st century CE as a better alternative to scrolls. Inspired by Roman wax tablets, it used durable parchment folded into sheets, making it more practical and compact—one of the biggest advances in bookmaking before the printing press.
rRX6w TIL the cars Oprah gave away during her famous "You get a car!" episode were donated by General Motors as a promotional stunt, and many of the 'winners' had to pay an additional $7,000 gift tax.
Pjxe TIL Queen guitarist Brian May is an astrophysicist and member of the NASA team that interprets data from Pluto.