› added 11 years ago

60

TIL Titanic’s fourth funnel was fake, added to make the ship look more powerful (and symmetrical). A bit like putting a dummy exhaust on a car.

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6pvW TIL that when the Gregorian calendar was implemented in 1582, Thursday 4 October was followed by Friday 15 October, to adjust to the new calendar.
e0dN5 TIL diclofenac is toxic to some birds and its use in livestock is linked to a drop in vulture populations, which causes a rise in feral dogs populations and an increased risk of rabies transmission
Z866v TIL when Gandhi's wife came down with pneumonia, he denied her penicillin, even though doctors said it would cure her; he insisted the new medicine was an alien substance her body should not take in. She died from it in 1944. Just years later, he took quinine to treat his own malaria. He survived.
LkNXP TIL: The Nuremburg Code stipulates "voluntary, informed consent" for research participants, and experiments that might lead to death/disability are unacceptable. U.S.A. violated The Code throughout the 1950-70s w/ large scale releases of bacteria in NYC subway, on PA Turnpike, and National Airport.
0w96A TIL that in 1973 the CEO of GM dismissed Honda's CVCC technology as only good for "little toy motorcycle engines." Soichiro Honda then bought a Chevy Impala with a 5.7L V8 and had engineers build a CVCC system for it. Flown back to the US, it passed EPA tests without a catalytic converter.