› added 9 years ago

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TIL that the nutrition facts that are printed on food packages in the US and Canada are based on Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) from 1968 even though newer RDAs are available.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

oBgxE TIL - In 2013 a company create an ‘electric backpack’ that attaches on the back of a cockroach allowing it to be controlled by a mobile phone app.
8aXA4 TIL there are about 1,500 species of cicadas known. There are those that appear yearly in midsummer, and there are also the so-called "periodic" cicadas. They appear at prime number intervals - 7 years, 13 years and 17 years. Once every 221 years, the 13-year cycle and 17-year cycle cicadas overlap.
m1kWO TIL about Plastivores. Bacteria, Fungi and even some insects that can break down and de-polymerize all kinds of plastics. Once thought to be rare in nature, Plastivorous activity is being increasingly found in a wide variety of places including sea-water and the Amazon.
nONB TIL that after Hurricane Katrina, Cuba & Venezuela were the first countries to offer assistance, pledging over $1 million, several mobile hospitals, water treatment plants, canned food, bottled water, heating oil, 1,100 doctors and 26.4 metric tons of medicine -but were rejected by the US Government
gLEA TIL when Facebook users voted for Taylor Swift to perform at a school for deaf students as a prank, the school was removed from the contest, but Swift donated $10K to the school, 4 companies matched her donation, VH1 gave $10k in instruments, & Swift gave the students tickets to her Boston concert.