› added 9 years ago

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TIL, in the USA, sticks of butter from the East Coast are different dimensions than butter from the West Coast

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kJBMd TIL that cousin marriage is quite common around the world. About 10% of the world’s families are headed by couples who are second cousins or closer, and that the genetic risks and taboo — especially in the US — of marrying a cousin are generally blown way out of proportion.
1eDX TIL Alexander Graham Bell advocated against the use of sign language and hoped to eradicate deafness through eugenics (selective human breeding).
Oodr7 TIL about Mitchell Herndon, a teen with a disease so rare it didn't have a name. Being only one of two people ever, they diagnosed it through the help of fruit flies. When he passed away, they opted to name it "Mitchell Disease"
ZVQG TIL Tanks were originally called tanks as a way of misleading the enemy into thinking they were water tanks shipped to areas of the battle where water was scarce.
VBb5D TIL that the smallest island in the world with a private residence is called Just Room Enough Island, which is just 3,300 square feet (310 m²).