› added 5 years ago

86

TIL of the plant Silphium, which was believed to conveniently double up as an aphrodisiac and contraceptive, but is now regrettably extinct

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l4ja TIL that when Noam Chomsky was asked to demonstrate his point that sentences could be grammatical yet nonsensical, he came up with the sentence: “Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.”
6xp8 TIL an estimated 1 in 4 Alabamans are functionally illiterate, meaning they’re unable to manage daily living and employment tasks that require reading skills beyond a basic level
b9P5j TIL Dr. Seuss had an affair while his wife suffered from cancer and depression. She killed herself and he married his mistress a few months later.
QJGMa TIL that despite its signing into law in 1983, MLK Day wasn't observed in every state until 2000. Before it was made an official state holiday in South Carolina, employees could choose between celebrating MLK day or one of three holidays in honor of the Confederate States.
Z8B4o Today I learned that male pattern baldness evolved to compensate for the insulation effects of beards and thereby keep men's heads from overheating.