› added 6 months ago

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TIL that birds control the shape of their wings during flight using hook-shaped microstructures in their feathers to prevent them spreading too far apart. The detachment of the hooks is noisy, so they are missing from silent fliers such as barn owls.

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VBQOB TIL that Princess Diana and Winston Churchill are from the same family
v1vw8 TIL: Until the late 1400s the word ‘girl’ just meant a child of either sex. If you had to differentiate between them, male children were referred to as ‘knave girls’ and females were ‘gay girls‘.
KGmB TIL that George Lucas sold what would become Pixar to Steve Jobs for $5 million in 1979. When Disney bought Pixar, Jobs became the largest single shareholder of Disney. When Disney bought Lucasfilm of 2012, Lucas became the 2nd largest shareholder.
XErx6 TIL TIL The founding fathers feared the development of political parties. Among others, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and George Washington wrote about the dangers of domestic politic factions.
pY0KG TIL that the Uranus Fudge Factory is a real place and not just a joke from memes.