› added 4 years ago

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TIL that a "loose cannon" is an apt name for something out of control: when an 8000 pound cannon came loose from a mooring on a ship, it could wreak terror on the crew as it wiped out anything or person in its path and destroyed the ship's walls

9wbVG TIL: Explorers have found evidence that Neanderthals' and humans have been mating in ancient times more than expected over the past 2 decades from new DNA samples. In addition, scientists in 2013 found that they have a different penis as they lack penile spines and sleep around more than humans.
Y7Ker TIL that even though he won the Academy Awards for best picture and director for "Gandhi" in 1982, Richard Attenborough was disappointed and openly claimed that Steven Spielberg's "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" should have won. Spielberg cast him as John Hammond in "Jurassic Park" to thank him.
KYdEJ TIL - Since 2014, the Saudi company Fondomonte has been pumping unlimited amounts of groundwater in the desert west of Phoenix to harvest thousands of acres of alfalfa crops. The alfalfa is then shipped back to Saudi Arabia to feed their cattle.
vdxB TIL “Oh Yeah! Cartoons” remains TV’s biggest animation development program ever, giving several dozen filmmakers the chance to create nearly 100 seven-minute cartoons. The series eventually yielded three dedicated half-hour spin-offs: The Fairly OddParents, ChalkZone & My Life as a Teenage Robot.
69ojW TIL that the city center of Lyallpur (today's Faisalabad, Pakistan) was designed by the British to imitate the Union Jack, with eight roads radiating from a large clock tower (Ghenta Ghar) in the centre of eight separate bazaars