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TIL the canonical reason for most of the alien races to be humanoid in Star Trek is an ancient humanoid species seeding the oceans of many worlds with DNA codes 4.5 billion years before the start of the series, directing the evolution of life towards a physical pattern similar to their own.

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aXbo TIL that the 20,000 landmines used during the Britain/Argentina conflict over the Falklands have led to a booming population of penguins. Cows and humans avoid the fenced-off fields, but penguins are too light to set off the mines. The deadly fields have turned into penguin sanctuaries.
mx45y TIL of Gen. Gregor MacGregor, a Scottish con man who ran the “Poyais Scheme,” in which he convinced the entirety of the UK that he was the head of the (non-existent) paradise-like Kingdom of Poyais, going so far as to write a constitution for Poyais and establish several Poyais embassies in the UK.
JWb1 TIL Blockbusting, a business practice used by real estate brokers to buy a house in a white neighbourhood, rent it to a black family, and buy the rest of the neighbourhood at a discounted price after urging nervous white families to leave the neighbourhood.
7RgM TIL that Lady Diana Spencer was a direct descendant of Charles II (1630 – 1685), through two of his illegitimate sons. If everything goes as planed, William will be the first descendant of Charles II of England to accede to the throne.
9jBG TIL that British spies used semen as invisible ink during WWI. The method was invented by Captain Sir Mansfield Cumming.