› added 1 year ago

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TIL heterochrony – the mechanism by which giraffes acquired their long necks and us our big brains

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DQNej TIL contrary to popular belief Romans didn't forfeit Germania after the battle of Teutoburg forest, they sent 8 legions to recover their eagles and punish the Germans, after committing a minor genocide the legions were re-called over political concerns about the growing popularity of their general.
X0jD TIL that during his reign, Pope John Paul II apologized for the conquest of Mesoamerica, the complicity in the African slave trade, the silence of Catholics during the Holocaust, and the trial of Galileo.
rVyo TIL of Gerald Fit Mason, who was caught and convicted in 2003 for the 1957 murder of two police officers. He was identified by the the scar left by a bullet fired by one of his dying victims.
N7vG6 TIL Sepsis patients often have undetectable levels of vitamin C [scurvy], compared to healthy patients. Animals produce increased levels when they are stressed, but humans are unable to make vitamin C. Doctors are using intravenous vitamin C, hydrocortisone and thiamine to treat sepsis.
gMYBy TIL the plane with the longest wingspan to ever fly is the Stratolaunch, it has only flown once.