› added 13 years ago

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TIL 22% of the genome of Holstein dairy cattle has been altered by human selection in the last 40 years. Dairy cows are no longer bred for increased milk production because the average dairy cow already produces 21,000 pounds of milk, compared to 5,000 lbs in 1942.

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1aw14 TIL Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch of the West in Wizard of Oz, had a guest appearance on Sesame Street which scared so many children it was never aired again.
78PoZ TIL that the longest word entered in most standard English dictionaries is Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, which is 45 letters long and describes a type of lung disease. The longest "word" stands at 189,819 letters long and would not fit in the title of this thread.
bpvN TIL that in an incident that Picasso recalled fondly, two of his mistresses once encountered each other at the artist’s studio. They demanded that he choose between them, but the artist refused, stating that they should fight it out, which led to their wrestling on the floor.
4XR5X TIL Pope Formosus was tried Posthumously for Perjury and Violating Canon law.His nine-month-old corpse exhumed, propped up on a throne, and subjected to a mock trial.He was Found guilty, his election as pope was declared invalid, his acts were quashed, and his fingers of consecration were cut off.
bRW7 TIL that the SR-71 “Blackbird” was so fast that a standard evasive maneuver in case it detected a SAM missile was simply to outfly the said missile. Also, out of the 12 losses, none of them were from enemy fire, but from accidents.