› added 6 years ago

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TIL that the 2011 earthquake in Japan was so powerful it moved Honshu (the main island of Japan) 2.4m (8 ft) to the east, shifted the Earth on its axis by estimates of between 10 cm and 25 cm, and increased earth's rotational speed by 1.8 µs per day.

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4X1gN TIL some people don't like vegetables like cabbage and broccoli due to genes that make their taste buds super sensitive to having more of a protein that interlocks with phenylthiocarbamide, causing the sensation of bitterness. A very similar compound is found in brassicas, causing a similar reaction
NXQDJ TIL many of Alfred Hitchcock's "Hitchcock blondes"- including Eva Marie Saint (North by Northwest), Kim Novak (Vertigo), Vera Miles (Psycho), and Tippi Hedren (The Birds)- are all alive today and in their 90s.
XnME TIL Will Smith turned down the role of Django in Django Unchained because it wasn’t the lead role. Smith explained, I was like, ‘No, Quentin, please, I need to kill the bad guy!’”
ANNga TIL humans are experts at sweating. In 1 hour, a horse can lose about 100grams of water per sq meter of skin. However, a human can easily shed 500grams per sq meter, which helped our ancestors become unrivalled predators as we can stalk prey until they collapse from heat exhaustion
A1jw TIL: Spain Cheated in the 2000 Summer Paralympics, 10 of the 12 players on their roster “were encouraged to pretend to be stupid” and had no mental disability.