› added 2 days ago

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TIL that Venetia Phair, the first person to suggest the name Pluto for the dwarf planet in 1930, was still alive when it was declared a dwarf planet in 2006. When asked about it, she stated that “At my age, I've been largely indifferent, though I suppose I would prefer it to remain a planet.”

Read more news.bbc.co.uk

via reddit.com

DnVv TIL for 85 grand you can have a doctor snap your shin bones in half and extend the length of your legs
GY9d1 TIL that dolphins get high off puffer fish by holding the fish in their mouths and passing it around between them, causing the fish to release defense toxins which are euphoric in low doses. After they get high, they let the puffer fish go.
wopgP TIL When Napoleon died in exile on the island of St. Helena in 1821, his doctor surreptitiously took his penis during the autopsy and gave it to a priest, who smuggled it to Corsica.
LnMP TIL that WD-40 has never been patented as patenting would force them to disclose their recipe.
nWdQY TIL: that despite the controversy over Ada Lovelace being the "first programmer," she was the first to realize that the Analytical Engine—the earliest concept of a computer—could act on things beyond numbers, like music or symbols, marking her as a visionary who saw the full potential of computers.