› added 6 years ago

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TIL a debate was held at a scientific conference as to whether the mammalian Y chromosome (required for males) is rapidly degrading. At the end of the debate, a vote resulted in a 50/50 split for/against the notion that the Y chromosome is degrading, with mostly females for it and males against it.

Read more ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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Yp5MW TIL the sci-fi technology of the "mass driver" or electromagnetic catapult is real. The first prototype was built in 1977 for only $2,000, and the device was theorized by a sci-fi writer in 1937.
rrVd TIL that in WWII a Brit fighter ace lost his arm in a dogfight, so the RAF medical staff made him a custom prosthetic so he could keep fighting. He would later become squadron commander
epVEJ TIL intercontinental ballistic missiles use celestial navigation to check and correct their course (initially set using internal gyroscopes) while flying outside the Earth's atmosphere.
kOpP4 TIL A&W tried to sell a 1/3 Pounder to compete with McDonald's 1/4 Pounder but, despite rating better in flavor during blind testing and being priced the same as its rival, the 1/3 Pounder flopped because Americans consistently believed 1/4 was more than 1/3.
VWMG TIL As a result of where fighting began in 1914 and ended in 1918 on the Western Front (Mons, Belgium), the first and last soldiers of the British Empire to be killed in the First World War are buried in the same cemetery.