› added 2 months ago

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TIL: US government agencies responsible for leading the world in rare disease and cancer treatments (NIH) and hard sciences (NSF) have a long fascinating history partnering with universities and research institutions going back to WWII

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WkKl9 TIL that cats are attracted to eating spider plant foliage because it is mildly hallucinogenic to them. According to the ASPCA, the plants are non toxic to cats and contain chemical compounds that are said to be related to opium.
4xBX TIL that during the height of the CA gold rush, an egg would cost the equivalent of $25 in today’s money, coffee went for $100/pound, and a pair of boots would set you back more than $2,500.
v1Em4 TIL Hans van Meegeren is a master forger known as a national hero in the Netherlands for selling his fake art to Nazis during WW2. After the war, people believed the paintings were real, and he was charged as a collaborator. To prove his innocence, he painted a new forgery at his trial. It worked.
G0YN TIL Donald Duck is so loved in Scandinavian countries that in Sweden they had to make him illegal to vote for in political elections. In 2005 in Norway ¼ of the total population read the Donald Duck Magazine, and “Donaldism” became a thing.
b9GAj TIL explode and applause are both derived from the same word 'applaudo' - theatregoers in Ancient Rome would clap loudly to drive unpopular characters off the stage - or 'explode'.