› added 1 year ago

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TIL the evolutionary leap from egg laying to placental birth may have been helped by DNA from an ancient retrovirus, which coded for a protein allowing cells around the placenta to fuse, blocking the exchange of maternal-fetal blood and preventing the mother’s immune system from harming the fetus.

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wLevY TIL that Monty Python and the Holy Grail originally included the characters riding on real horses but they could not afford to rent them so they were forced to add in the iconic coconut bit, which is an old radio trick.
1aKR8 TIL about Ferret-legging, where contestants shove live ferrets down their pants, and the winner is whoever can stand all the biting and scratching for the longest time. The ferrets must have all their 34 teeth and all their claws. Neither ferret nor contestant can be drugged in any way.
jG8a TIL in 1943, a former childhood friend of Hitler called Eugen Wasner told an anecdote to his Wehrmacht friends about 9 yr old Hitler trying to pee into a goat’s mouth. The goat then bit his penis, and Hitler ran away crying. Wasner was subsequently sentenced to death.
M7D0a TIL the most common World Series matchup not involving the New York Yankees is the Athletics and the Giants, who have met 4 times. Despite both currently playing in the San Francisco Bay area, three of those matchups were from when they played in Philadelphia and New York.
Z8EyY TIL that branded antioxidants don't provide clear health benefits according to rigorous scientific study. Many of the the beneficial claims about these products comes from extremely effective marketing instead of actual facts.