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TIL that David Bowie's half brother, Terry Burns, who suffered from schizophrenia, was a significant influence on his music career.

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oB9KE TIL that Oxford University tradition is that all students wear a carnation as well as academic dress to their exams. The colour of the carnation is white for the first exam, red for the last and pink for each one in between.
BrvGD TIL a study found tobacco and tomato plants emit ultrasonic "squeals" when stressed. Microphones 4" away picked up the sounds when plants had stems cut/were under-watered: an average of 15 - 25 sounds within 1 hr from cutting, and 11 - 35 sounds per hr from drought.
Y77j7 TIL the terms Latino/Latina came from the French word Amérique Latine. Coined by Napoleon III, it was used in an effort to imply cultural kinship to Mexico and justify French intervention as well as to combat the ever growing Anglo-Saxon presence in America.
m1Mep TIL that Samuel L Jackson once held Martin Luther King Sr. hostage and also ushered at MLK Jr.’s funeral
xVR0b TIL Gladiatrix are the female equivalent of the gladiator of ancient Rome and they were almost certainly considered an exotic rarity by their audiences.