› added 19 hours ago

TIL James Jakob Williams was an African-American man who fought in the Greek War of Independence. He died in 1829, living the last years of his life as free man in a free Greece.

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6Elpl TIL elephants rarely get cancer, thanks to an extra cancer-fighting gene called P53. This gene recognizes dangerous cells and killing them before they become cancerous.
GYj8Q TIL Samurai’s would do the infamous haircut of shaving the top of their head and keep the back long otherwise known as “Chonmage” in order to keep them cool while fighting in the humid months but also to still keep their helmet secure on their head with the hair in the back.
KO4p9 TIL: Pink Himalayan Salt Doesn't Come From India or the Himalayas. It's mostly mined in Pakistan
v18M7 TIL that a male brown antechinus mates with as many females as possible for up to 14 hours at a time. Unfortunately, the effort usually crashes his immune system and ultimately kills him.
84pX TIL that people on the south Pacific Pitcairn Islands, descended from British mutineers and accompanying Tahitians, speak an English creole that is heavily influenced by naval lingo. “To fall over” is “to capsize” while for “everyone” they say “all hands” (from “all hands on deck”).