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TIL that a team of researchers in New Zealand discovered a fossil of the largest ever species of penguin. Based on the size and density of the bones, it's estimated that it would have weighed 154 kgs or 340 lbs

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yEgJ TIL that Henry Beecher, anesthesiologist in Boston, published a 1966 article that drew attention to 22 examples of unethical clinical research that had risked patients’ lives, which along with subsequent Congressional investigation led to current guidelines on informed consent and human research.
J11Wl TIL: Kummakivi is a large balancing rock in Ruokolahti, Finland. The 7-metre long boulder lies on a convex bedrock surface with a very small footprint but so firmly that it cannot be rocked with human force.
Eg5WW TIL that Johnny Marks was a Jewish songwriter who wrote "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "A Holly Jolly Christmas", "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree" and other iconic Christmas songs.
N79Pb TIL the gag toy “Whoopee Cushion” has been a practical joke since Roman times, circa 218CE.
KAQJ TIL Science fiction author Orson Scott Card called Serenity “the best science fiction film ever”, further stating “If Ender’s Game can’t be this kind of movie, and this good a movie, then I want it never to be made. I’d rather just watch Serenity again.”