› added 8 years ago

192

TIL that Roald Dahl changed the Oompa-Loompas from black-skinned pygmies to dwarves with “rosy-white” skin after allegations of racism.

Read more roalddahlfans.com

via ift.tt

wod4J TIL the Constellation Aquila - which represents the bird that carries Zeus' thunderbolts - has had 10 Novas in the 100 years between 1899 and 1999
PYO5Z TIL that the SR-71 Blackbird was originally designated as the RS-71, but when president Lyndon B. Johnson mistakenly called it the SR-71 in a public briefing the name was changed, as the president was not normally corrected.
69Ey7 TIL that sperm is not originally in the semen but they get "mixed" when you're going to ejaculate.
8aPmb TIL about the Bonn-Oberkassel dog, the oldest undisputed dog fossil, which is over 14 thousand years old. A pathology of the remains indicates the dog was ill and would not have been able to live without intensive human care.
VB4pZ TIL that James G. Watt, the Secretary of State under Reagan, banned acts like the Beach Boys from performing in the National Mall, as he believed that their music encouraged drug use.