› added 11 months ago

45

TIL that it has been estimated that five of the ten highest prices ever paid for a book (adjusted for inflation) were for John James Audubon's The Birds of America.

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MeRkm TIL that the University of Glasgow created an artificial tongue using gold and aluminum that can distinguish between whiskeys with 99% accuracy, with the goal of reducing counterfeit alcohol in circulation.
Ddnj TIL anyone born in any place that was once controlled by France (e.g. all of the land in Lousiana Purchase) is eligible for almost immediate French Citizenship (skipping the 5 year residency requirement).
mxdZM TIL that during a NASA auction in 1976, an intern called G. George bought 218$ worth of film roll. It turns out that they were original videotape recordings of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Sotheby's has since resold it for about 1.8 million dollars.
76dP TIL that while the United States was performing lobotomies in the mid 1900’s, the Soviet Union banned them because they were “Contrary to the principles of humanity.”
W79o8 TIL - there's such a thing as pink snow