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TIL that Italian-born skier Alessia Afi Dipol had only been to Togo once before representing the African country at its first Winter Olympics in 2014. She became a citizen just before the games started and later said she chose to represent Togo because her father owns a clothing factory there.

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RdMw TIL of Jonathan Magbie - 27-year-old quadriplegic, unable to breathe on his own, died while serving a 10 day sentence for pot possession.
8ay78 TIL the same guy that charted with "It Never Rains in Southern California" also wrote "The Air That I Breathe" for The Hollies, "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" for Julio Iglesias/Willie Nelson, and "When I Need You" by Leo Sayer as well as the novelty hit "Gimme Dat Ding' for the Pip
grn4D TIL scientists aren't entirely certain what evolutionary advantage we get from our ability to taste sourness. The other main tastes are know to either draw us to particular nutrients or steer us away from toxins, but we're not so sure about sour.
E1YmW TIL that there are languages without the terms “Left, Right, Front, and Behind.” These cultures use “North, South, East, and West” their whole lives no matter if they are in a room or in the woods. The result is a compass brain. They always know how they are oriented.
gMm5y TIL that the founder of the first permanent European settlement in Greenland, Erik the Red, only decided to settle there because he had been banished for murder from all the other places he had lived.