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TIL: In 2002 German citizens were tipped off about wiretapping, when a software error led to a phone number allocated to the German Secret Service being listed on mobile telephone bill

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via ift.tt

xVbv1 TIL that in Sweden, a single anonymous phone call to the tax authority is enough to find out what someone has paid and tabloids often publish lists of the highest earners in different neighborhoods.
womjE TIL: A key factor of animals belonging to the same species is their ability to produce fertile offspring together. So a Great Dane and a Chihuahua could produce fertile offspring, and a horse and a donkey can have a baby together but their offspring will always be infertile.
X0GVr TIL certain East Asian physical traits, like thicker hair, more sweat glands, distinct teeth, and smaller breasts, stem from a gene mutation about 35,000 years ago. Africans and Europeans usually carry the ancestral version of the gene, but in most East Asians, one of the DNA units has mutated.
4vmJ TIL Clerks was made for $27,575, mostly funded by credit cards in Kevin Smith’s name, proceeds from selling his comic collection, a family donation and paychecks from the stores the film is about.
Jxy4 TIL Kurt Russel directed Tombstone, but didn’t want to be listed as the director. Of the two listed directors, one was fired very early in the production and the second was a “ghost director”.