› added 10 years ago

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TIL that people with Down syndrome, who used to have a life expectancy of about 25, are living to 60.

Read more mayoclinic.org

via reddit.com

nWVQP TIL Florence, Kentucky is the site of a water tower that previously advertised the town's mall, but was later changed to read "FLORENCE Y'ALL"
QN7DX TIL smelt are naturally-occurring "GMOs": in the only known case of horizontal gene transfer between animals, they "stole" their gene for antifreeze protein from the very distantly related herring
8aZwG TIL that the male gentoo and Adelie penguins “propose” to females by giving them a pebble.
vPZ1K TIL that French composer and organist Jehan Alain joined the French Army in WWII, serving as a despatch rider. He was conducting reconnaissance by motorbike when he encountered German infantry. Refusing to surrender, he killed 16 enemies before being gunned down.
R57Oj TIL that during the East German coffee crisis in the 1970s, care packages from the West ended up providing an estimated 25% of all coffee in East Germany. Demand for the fruit bread which was the traditional return gift was so high a minister proposed a ban on gifting it.