› added 12 years ago

170

TIL in 1959 a group of soviet-era Russian scientists were selectively breeding the silver fox. Through selecting foxes with desirable characteristics, calm demeanour for example, the project produced the first human friendly phenotypes.

Read more ngm.nationalgeographic.com

via reddit.com

4kaNw TIL in 2011 a Canadian woman survived 48 days in Nevada's wilderness subsisting on candy, trail mix & snow before she heard rescuers in the distance & alerted them. Her husband had left for help after their minivan broke down but never returned & was later discovered having likely died from exposure
bxyQ TIL that J. K. Rowling changed her mind about the title of the 4th Harry Potter book twice. Until 12 days before publication, the already publicized working title was “Harry Potter and the Doomspell Tournament”, which turned to “Triwizard Tournament” and then “Goblet of Fire”
Yp81r TIL about Salvinorin A, a dissociative hallucinogen found in the plant Salvia divinorum. Used by indigenous Mazatec shamans for spiritual purposes for thousands of years, it's currently being studied as a potential therapeutic agent, as it's in legal in most countries which facilitates research.
ADkoB TIL the Aztec death whistle produces a horrifying sound sometimes described as “the scream of thousand corpses”
wXpY TIL In 1938 Hitler offered to let the Jews leave peacefully. A conference was held, and the US, Britain, and most other countries in attendance refused to take in substantial numbers of Jews.