› added 7 years ago

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TIL that 12,000 bears are farmed for their bile in Asia which is used in traditional Chinese medicine and generates $2bn per year. Farming always involves surgery on the bears to insert a catheter or to cut a hole through the abdomen by which the bile leaks. Bear bile has no medicinal effect.

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via reddit.com

GYdl5 TIL that fruit punch was invented as an alternative to beer by men working for the British East India Company. This is because the beer on their ships went bad when they reached the Indian Ocean. They ended up using rum, fruit, and spices available in their new location to create punch.
W7ox8 TIL: Staufen, Germany, a picturesque town with buildings dating to the 16th century, is literally being destroyed by a failed attempt to harness geothermal energy.
ZpP7o TIL Volunteers comprise 65% of firefighters in the United States. Of the total estimated 1,041,200 firefighters across the country, 676,900 are volunteer. Communities served by volunteer firefighters depend on them to be their first line of defense for many types of emergencies.
rRdJ4 TIL Dragon Ball has actually caused an international incident- It is so popular inMexico that there were government-sponsored public watch parties for the final episodes of Dragon Ball Super.They became so popular Japan had to send a formal diplomatic notice commanding them to stop,which they didn't
wL878 TIL: A viewer of "America's Most Wanted" called to report that he'd seen the kidnapped girl who was featured. The authorities investigated and found that while she wasn't the girl featured, she had been kidnapped years ago, and reunited her with her mother.