› added 5 years ago

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TIL that all Scottish fold cats are descended from a single barn cat named Susie. A local shepherd found Susie and started a breeding program in 1966. Susie's, and her descendants' iconic floppy ears are actually a sign of a painful genetic disease where the cat's cartilage is weak.

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rGn1 TIL that coconut water taken from a fresh opened coconut can be injected intravenously into the human blood stream to re hydrate a patient as it mimics human plasma almost exactly.
wLGVJ TIL it's been 125,000 generations since the emergence of human species, 7,500 generations since human physiology reached what is essentially its modern state, 500 generations since the agricultural revolution, and ONLY 20 generations since the scientific revolution!
kOwWe TIL: The Beatles song Blackbird was written in the civil rights era directly to encourage black girls as they integrated Little Rock schools. In Britain a bird is slang for girl. Interview with McCartney himself clearly stating this is attached. 16:34 in the video.
yQJw8 TIL that if you add 250ml of ethanol to 250ml of water, you get less than 500ml of liquid. This is due to strong hydrogen bonding that draws the different molecules close together, and because ethanol interferes with any open structures in the water, causing the molecules to pack closer together.
jNxdj TIL of that time Peter Jackson tried to get Lee to scream as he was stabbed, only to be corrected. "Have you any idea what kind of noise happens when somebody's stabbed in the back?" Lee said he asked Jackson. "Because I do."