› added 7 years ago

121

TIL that the can opener was invented 40 years after the can.

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via reddit.com

6ER8J TIL Urine contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium—key nutrients that plants need to grow. Researchers have been studying the removal of bacteria, viruses, and pharmaceuticals in urine to improve the safety of urine-derived fertilizers.
J5pB TIL of Harvard Observatory astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt; given the boring job of examining the luminosity of stars in thousands of photos, she discovered how to measure the distance between the Earth and faraway galaxies. At the time, she was not allowed to operate Harvard’s telescope.
oBLJA TIL of Alfred Nakache, a Jewish-French swimmer who held the 200m men’s breaststroke record, was deported to Auschwitz where his wife and daughter were murdered, yet came back to compete in the 1948 London Olympics
J1dD8 TIL the humming noise produced by electricity is a different tone in Europe than it is in the US. The American electrical hum is a B-flat whereas the European electrical hum is a G
o0WW TIL that to determine the quality of caviar, some fisherman will suck eggs out of a live fish with a straw to test how “ripe” they are.