› added 1 year ago

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TIL that McMurdo Station, the largest research community in Antarctica, is on an actively volcanic island

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WGoN TIL that the at-sign, @, is not a modern invention. It has been found on documents as old as 1345.
8eLAX TIL that due to their long association with humans, dogs have evolved the ability to thrive on a starch-rich diet, which would be inadequate for other canid species.
N8wN TIL that “rods” and “hogshead” are actual measurement units, and when Grandpa Simpson claims his car “gets forty rods to the hogshead, and that’s the way I like it”, he’s boasting about getting just shy of 0.002 MPG.
wokkW TIL that a nearly microscopic water flea has about 9,000 more genes than humans
8aQ7X TIL that Czechoslovakian car company, Tatra, sued Ferdinand Porsche for patent infringement, due to similarity in design between the VW Beetle and the Tatra V570. Hitler said he would "solve his problem," subsequently invading Czechoslovakia in 1938. The lawsuit was dropped soon after.