› added 5 years ago

104

TIL that a meteorite that fell contained many organic compounds, one of which is a novel amino acid similar to mammal neurotransmitters and can treat chronic pain

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GO84 TIL of French Treasury Chief Etienne de Silhouette, whose penny-pinching ways inspired the term ‘à la Silhouette’ for things perceived as austere. These included a newly popular form of portraiture using a shadow profile cut from black paper.
xVw80 TIL that hooded seal milk is the fattiest known milk, with more than 60 percent fat. A hooded seal mother feeds her pups for only four days, with the pups consuming 7.5 kilograms (16.6 pounds) each day, and by the time they are weaned, they are almost double their birth weight
nW9Yo TIL about the the nilgai, scientific name Boselaphus tragocamelus. The generic name Boselaphus comes from the combination of the Latin bos "cow/ox" and the Greek elaphos "deer". The specific name tragocamelus comes from two Greek words tragos "he-goat" and kamelos "camel". It is an antelope
E10lX TIL of the world's only black flamingo. Despite many hoaxes of blue flamingos, their colors only range from white to hues of pink, depending on their diet. This black flamingo has melanism and is most likely one of a kind.
MeLam TIL that J.K. Rowling wrote a real person into The Goblet of Fire. The girl was named Natalie McDonald, a Harry Potter fan who was dying of leukaemia while Rowling was still writing the book. You see her character as a first-year who dons the sorting hat and is sorted into Gryffindor.