› added 12 years ago

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TIL the Yucatan peninsula is named after the Mayan phrase meaning, “I don’t understand what you’re saying.” in response to the Spaniards asking where they were.

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X0gLj TIL The Dingo Fence is one of the longest man-made barriers in the world. It’s 5,614 km long, starting from Western Queensland and ending in the Great Australian Bight. The land on the dingo side has a healthier ecosystem, stays greener longer, and is more biodiverse, w/ more small mammals present.
OROY TIL that all the contributors of the psuedoscientifc AIDS denial magazine ‘Continuum’ died of clinical conditions caused by AIDS
6EkoY TIL of Research during 1950s all-male combat aircraft assignments revealed that a woman's voice was more likely to gain the attention of young men in distracting situations. Joan Elms voice was used for the automated voice warnings for Convair B-58 and was named "Sexy Sally" by the pilots.
kOjO5 TIL that Ancient Egyptian servants were commonly coated in honey for the purpose of attracting flies toward them and away from the Pharaoh.
JlQ1 TIL The Plantaris is a small muscle in your calf that is believed to be used by our ancestors to grip with their feet. It is so weak that it is considered functionally obsolete and arguments have been made that humans are evolving it out. It is absent in 7-10% of the population worldwide.