› added 5 years ago

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TIL Kary Mullis, Nobel Prize Winner American Biochemist, who invented PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) technique, held high belief in 'Astrology' and had an encounter with an extraterrestrial in the form of a fluorescent raccoon. He used to self-test novel psychoactive substances too.

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pYN0Z TIL that Scottish banknotes are issued by 3 retail banks and they are not legal tender anywhere in the UK. Scottish bank notes are not legal tender even in Scotland, where, in law, no banknotes, even those issued by the Bank of England, are defined as legal tender.
ADdLB TIL about the Oka Crisis, when the Mohawk community of Kanesatake, joined by natives from other communities in Canada and the United States, rebelled against an attempt by the local Canadian government to build a golf course over sacred Mohawk land.
mxbgp TIL The first recorded use of the F-word in the modern sense is believed to be a court record from the 1300s referencing a Roger Fuckebythenavele who was apparently believed to be too stupid to copulate properly.
rvjo TIL of a family falsely accused of abusing their son. Following british law, all their kids were forcibly put up for adoption. They are not allowed to see them, even after being proven innocent. When she got pregnant again, they had to move to Ireland so their child would not be taken away at birth.
GAlg4 TIL that a fried chicken factory in Hamelt, North Carolina fell victim to a severe grease fire caused by faulty machinery and made worse by locked emergency exits and the fire was the second deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the state