› added 4 years ago

381

TIL about two faced "Janus" cats, named after Roman god who had two faces; one looking into the past, the other the future. They don't usually survive more than a day, but a 2 faced cat named Frank and Louie defied the odds and lived for 15yrs, even appearing in the Guinness World Records book 2006.

Read more cnn.com

via reddit.com

VBQgQ TIL Union Army General John Sedgwick died scolding his men due to them taking cover from sharpshooter fire. Striding around in the open, his last words were “They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance."
oBvp8 TIL In 1890, a theater enthusiast named Eugene Schieffelin introduced European starlings mentioned in Shakespeare's plays to the American continent. They devoured entire orchards, costing farmers millions each year and now consuming nearly all the eggs of the nearly-extinct eastern bluebird.
o5gW TIL morality, empathy, altruism and gratitude have been observed in non-human mammals, suggesting that our own sense of morality comes not from religion or society, but from biology.
DlOv TIL The Beyonce Song ‘Run the World (Girls)’, a song about female empowerment, was written by five male record producers.
R5re6 TIL about an Australian jellyfish that causes Irukandji syndrome: excruciating muscle cramps, severe pain in the back and kidneys, a burning sensation of the skin and face, headaches, nausea, restlessness, sweating, vomiting, and psychological phenomena such as the feeling of impending doom.