› added 11 years ago

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TIL that Vermont abolished slavery in 1777, while still an independent nation. This means Vermont was both the first state, and the first nation in the Americas to abolish the institution of slavery.

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R7rv8 TIL that some physical expressions are hardwired into our genes. A study have observed that blind athletes (and blind kids) use the victory gesture (raising hands) after wining even though they have never seen anyone else do it.
yV7W8 TIL that originally Pixar made computers and made 3D animations to show how powerful their computers were. People liked the cartoons so much they later became an entertainment company
JWW8 TIL more than 40 years of original Cracked magazine archives had to be destroyed due to possible contamination after the anthrax attacks of 2001.
neL0Y TIL about pan-human love. In past 300k years, we overlapped with 6 known human species. All but us now extinct, though we interbred and carry the DNA of at least two (Denisovans, Neanderthals). Some Neanderthal skeletons carry our DNA too. Denisovans and Neanderthals mixed separately from us also.
e0P54 TIL in 1968 Elton John attempted suicide but was discovered by Bernie Taupin. Upon finding Elton's head in the oven, resting on a pillow, with the gas on low, and all the windows open, Bernie couldn't stop laughing. This event inspired the hit single "Someone Saved My Life Tonight"