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Today I learned that in 1962 a man bought a deserted island in the Seychelles and planted 16000 trees, reintroduced 120 giant turtles and hundreds of birds turning the island into a protected national park

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KOyB4 TIL that the saying "when one door closes, another opens" is an Alexander Graham Bell quote, which he then followed by saying "but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us."
69718 TIL that Blue-eyed people are more likely to become alcoholics. A gene lying near the OCA2 gene on chromosome 15 carries a mutation that leads to increased alcohol tolerance, and thus a tendency to drink too much.
NX0X1 TIL about actor Doug McClure, who was the inspiration for The Simpsons' character, Troy McClure. McClure's daughter said that while watching an episode of The Simpsons, Doug saw the character Troy McClure on the show and said, "Are they making fun of me?"
mQJY TIL that Chinese dissident and journalist Shi Tao was jailed for over 8 years after Yahoo! China facilitated his arrest by providing his personal details to the Chinese government.
a8AZ TIL: The phrase “on the rocks” came from the “olden days” in Scotland, where scott’s who didn’t have ice would go to the river and take stones chilled by the mountain snow and add it to there drinks. And that’s where the phrase, scotch “on the rocks” comes from