› added 7 years ago

235

TIL that Haiti—the only nation born of a slave revolt—could have been a prosperous country but was impoverished by a crippling, decades-long embargo imposed by Europe and the U.S. after former slaves overthrew the country's European ruling elites.

0wDry TIl about Henry Starr a western outlaw and bank robber who was convicted of murder of a us Marshall but was eventually pardoned and went on to play himself in his own biopic A Debtor to The Law. Two years after the movie was released he was killed by a bank manager during a robbery
x6Myo TIL about Skatole, a compound found in mammal poop, has a disgusting smell at high concentrations—but at low levels, it actually smells floral and sweet. It’s naturally found in flowers like jasmine and orange blossoms, and is used in perfumes and some flavorings.
VBExk TIL that in fall when some tree leaves change color, the brown-red-yellow is actually their real color. The green was the chlorophyll used to absorb sunlight that is now broken down and reabsorbed into the trunk to save energy and reuse for next year's new leaves
BgBdk TIL that the creation of Isthmus of Panama 3 millions years ago changed the world. First, it connected two isolated systems causing massive extinctions. Second, created the Gulf stream that makes Europe 10 degree warmer.
jNoJX TIL after reading the script for “Being John Malkovich”, John Malkovich said he was "half intrigued and half horrified”, he was interested in directing the movie if they changed the titular character to another actor, writer Charlie Kaufman refused.