› added 10 years ago

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TIL there used to be a horse sized duck living in Australia

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V8W4 TIL 1 in 10 inhabitants on the island of Pingelap is color blind due to a ‘population bottleneck’ in 1775 after a catastrophic typhoon swept through the remote island leaving only 20 survivors. One of the survivors was King Nanmwarki Mwanenihsed, patient 0 with the rare Achromatopsia gene.
neA5d TIL A New Bird Species “Big Bird” Has Evolved on Galapagos And Scientists Watched It Happen
gMLM4 TIL that Singapore still use caning extensively as a form of punishment in schools, prisons and the government.
vPYKr TIL that there were two contemporary inquiries into the sinking of the Titanic (British and American). The British inquiry focused more on how the disaster had come about, while the American version was much more about who should be blamed.
rR5Ee TIL that during prohibition, the US government forced companies to add more chrmicals to industrial-grade alcohol to stop people from stealing it and distilling it. It didn't really work. In the end, about 10,000 people died because of this.