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TIL 1749 out of 1750 species of cacti are native to only The Americas

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69bOW TIL that astronomers observed a spot on Jupiter between 1665 and 1713, but there were no further mentions of a spot until 1831. Scientists believe that the two spots were likely different phenomena, in which case the current Great Red Spot would only be around 200 years old.
YpWd7 TIL Coca-Cola marketing is partly responsible for the modern depiction of Santa Claus. Illustrator Haddon Sundblom drew Santa for a 1931 Coke ad in The Saturday Evening Post. His drawing was inspired by the 1822 poem 'A Visit from St. Nicholas' (commonly called 'Twas the Night Before Christmas').
6En6Y We’ve been conditioned to think of Covid-19 as a respiratory disease—but it’s not just about the lungs. Evidence is emerging that the coronavirus can cause heart damage in people who’ve had mild symptoms or none at all, especially if those people exercise while they’re infected. If you've just had Covid—even if you didn't have symptoms—you need to be aware of myocarditis. That’s cardiologist-speak for what happens when the muscular walls of the heart become inflamed, weakening the organ and making it more difficult for it to pump blood. It’s not a newly discovered condition, and it turns up pretty rarely, but when it does, it’s most often triggered by an infection. Strenuous activity while the heart is weakened can cause swelling in the legs, dizziness, shortness of breath, and—in serious cases—irregular heartbeat, cardiac arrest, and sudden death.
N6rb TIL Orson Wells was only 23yrs old when he gave his famous ‘War of the Worlds’ Broadcast, and only 26yrs old when he produced, co-authored, directed, and starred in Citizen Kane.
mx0DM TIL Usain Bolt suffered from scoliosis when he was younger and has an asymmetrical stride when he runs because his legs are slightly different lengths. Researchers aren’t sure if this lack of symmetry is a personal mechanical optimization by Bolt that makes him the fastest human or not.