› added 11 years ago

218

TIL The age of consent in the Vatican is 12 years old

Read more bbc.co.uk

via reddit.com

E1EMx TIL in 1940, a man saw House Finches for sale in Brooklyn–sold as Hollywood Finches, a violation of Migratory Bird Treaty Act. He told the Audubon Society & they went undercover–busting shops selling them. Shops released them to avoid penalty. Now they’re one of the most widespread birds in America.
jkMR TIL The world’s first theater devoted exclusively to moving pictures appeared in Pittsburgh in 1905. Its founders called the place Nickelodeon, from the price of admission (a nickel) and “Odeon” the ancient Greek word for theatre.
l0d1 TIL that gamers, playing an online protein folding game, helped decipher the structure of an AIDS causing virus in 10 days; It had remained unsolved by scientists for 15 years. Using the same platform, gamers also helped redesign a widely used enzyme, increasing its activity by a factor of 18.
MNbm TIL The lyrics to Percy Sledge’s “When A Man Loves A Woman” were completely improvised by Sledge on the recording. He improvised so well that his the session musicians assumed that he had pre-written lyrics.
7nVM TIL Katie Holmes turned down returning as Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight to star in a critically derided crime film with Queen Latifah