› added 6 years ago

149

TIL a “son of a gun” used to mean a child born on a a naval ship of uncertain paternity (ie a soldier’s bastard).

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wm46 TIL you could stop both the original and the current Green Lantern with a #2 pencil.
nWejB TIL in school I read about Nellie Bly, a female journalist in the late 1800s who got herself committed to an insane asylum to report on the conditions. She also once jumped off a ferry so she could report on the efficiency of the rescue crew!
en6k TIL that Siri sends every question you ask to a database in North Carolina, IBM in fact outlaws Siri for fear of loose lips
XEjKj TIL the platypus is the only mammal that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. It is also one of the few species of venomous mammals, as the male platypus has a spur on the hind foot that delivers a venom capable of causing severe pain to humans.
xVoG1 TIL that there is a black market where professors write college papers and homework for students. A journalist tried to expose one site as a scam, but got an A- instead.