› added 6 years ago

261

TIL in 2016, "a boy was killed and 20 others infected by anthrax released when retreating permafrost exposed the frozen carcass of a reindeer killed by the bacteria at least 75 years earlier; 2,000 present-day reindeer were infected, too, carrying and spreading the disease further."

Read more nymag.com

via reddit.com

d81V9 TIL James Blunt(singer) developed scurvy in university when he ate only meat for two months 'out of principle' to annoy vegetarian classmates
b9Ek0 TIL Mars only gets close enough to Earth to give up much detail just once every 780 days. It’s the only planet to reveal an appreciable amount of surface detail in a small telescope, and it also features occasional surprises such as dust storms and local fogs and cloud banks
0wAnj TIL in 1981 a man named Roger Fischer had an idea for a volunteer to have ICBM launch codes put in their chest cavity. In the event of an emergency, the volunteer would carry a knife to be killed with. It was meant to force the personal killing of one man to start the impersonal killing of millions.
X0oV6 TIL about Jackie Mitchell, a 17-year-old female pitcher for the Chattanooga Lookouts Class AA minor league baseball team. During an exhibition game against the New York Yankees in 1931, Mitchell struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in succession.
YpQvv TIL that some, but not all, horses have canine teeth. The males normally have a full set of 4, whereas fewer than 28% of the females may only have 1 or 2.