› added 10 months ago

66

TIL fruit flies (drosophila melanogaster) share 60% of human DNA, making them perfect for research that has led to vital strides in the treatment of cancer, autism, and diabetes. Six Nobel prizes have been awarded for research involving fruit flies.

Read more theguardian.com

via reddit.com

oBPdR TIL that the five Olympic rings were introduced in 1912 with the five colors representing each and every colour that appeared on the flags of the Olympic's competing nations at that time
rwjo TIL In Back to the Future the actress who played Jennifer couldn’t return for Part II due to her mother getting sick. This meant that the closing scene of Part I had to be re-shot with the new actress. They managed to re-film it with a near shot-for-shot match of the original.
N7ym1 TIL In 2013 Subway was sued for selling 11-inch Footlongs. In the settlement they agreed to pay $525,000 in attorney fees and required their restaurants to now measure bread, so that Footlong and 6-inch sandwiches will indeed be at least 12 inches and 6 inches, respectively.
OoDe7 TIL that based on geological definitions of a continent, the Earth actually has a lost eighth continent, known as Zealandia. Most of this continent is submerged beneath the sea, while a tiny sliver, including New Zealand, is above the water.
9M8B TIL Picard’s Flute from the Star Trek TNG episode “The Inner Light” was put up for auction along with other Star Trek memorabilia in 2006. Christie’s estimated the flute would sell for $300. The winning bidder paid $48,000 for the flute.