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TIL the first verified Meteorite of Martian origin contains the mineral Shergottite, named after a village in India. McSween & Stolper proposed its martian origin in the 1970s , were first ridiculed and later acclaimed when the origin had been confirmed.

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R7VJa TIL The Alamo was fought over slavery. Texas settlers wanted to keep slaves after Vicente Guerrero, the black president of Mexico, fought for and abolished slavery. But Andrew Jackson and Sam Houston hatched a plan to take Texas from Mexico to create a slave state.
GYJlj TIL the lifespan of blue whales is estimated by their earwax, which builds up in seasonal cycles somewhat like the rings of a tree.
9g4Q TIL of King Psamtik I, who conducted the first recorded experiment in psychology. He sought to prove that the innate language was Egyptian. He sent two infants to live secluded in care w/out ever hearing words. The conclusion: Phrygian. One babys first word was “becos,” Phrygia’s word for bread.
Okkg TIL when when Android was unveiled in 2007, Nokia was quoted as saying “we don’t see this as a threat,” and a member of Microsoft’s Windows Mobile team stated “I don’t understand the impact that they are going to have.”
xVAlw TIL Jeanne Barret, expert botanist, was the first woman to have completed a voyage of circumnavigation of the globe. She enlisted in Bougainville expedition (1766-1769) disguised as a man and supposedly as her boyfriend's valet, the botanist Philibert Commerson