› added 10 years ago

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TIL fainting at the sight of blood may have evolved to help us “play dead” when attacked

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neoNG TIL Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Sherlock Holmes on "Sherlock," is distantly related to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who created the character.
kO0Z4 TIL the ancient Greeks had a democratic process to nominate and vote to send any citizen away for 10 years. Like the opposite of an election.
GY1O5 TIL Ray Bradbury wrote the first draft of “Fahrenheit 451” on a coin-operated typewriter in the basement of the UCLA library. It charged 10¢ for 30 minutes, and he spent $9.80 in total at the machine.
Z81Qa TIL Following the first successful powered flight in 1903, the Wright Brothers took their invention to a cautious War Department, who were skeptical due to past false claims. Incensed that their good word was not accepted, and worried about weak patent laws, the Wrights hid their invention away.
wLLKJ TIL the term 'soap operas' originated from daily 15 minute programs on the radio and were so-called because they were sponsored by soap companies, such as Colgate-Palmolive and Procter & Gamble. Soap operas were specifically engineered to appeal to women with the intention of increasing sale of soap