› added 8 years ago

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TIL that the gene that was bred into tomatoes by commercial farmers to give them a uniform color had the unintended result of preventing internal sugar reactions that give tomatoes flavor. This mutation (and lack of flavor) has been bred into almost all commercial American tomatoes.

nWojr TIL the village of Monowi in Nebraska has a population of one. 88yo Elsie Eiler is the sole resident, serving as (self-elected) mayor, tavern owner, treasurer, clerk, secretary and librarian. The 2020 census recorded the population as 2, but this was due to a voter privacy measure.
9YbwB TIL In the 1980s American Airlines sold tickets for unlimited travel (priced around 250000 dollar). One passenger, over a period of 10+ years, traveled more than 10 million miles, accumulated over 40 million frequent flier miles (all of which he gave away), and cost the airline more than $21 million
wLJ7J TIL a Spoonerism is when parts of two words are switched in a phrase, such as "The Lord is a shoving leopard", instead of "a loving shepherd."
vdZK TIL that Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte, both broke nyc teenagers in love with the theatre, shared single tickets to local plays and traded off at intermission, filling the other one in on the plot so far.
kO0JE TIL In 1975 the Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded to USA's Howard Temin for his research on cancer. During his acceptance speech in Sweden, he called out some present -- including a Queen and other royalty -- for smoking. He insisted that the ashtray on the laureates' table be removed.