› added 4 years ago

231

TIL that no new chemical element was discovered in an US laboratory since Seaborgium (Z=106) in 1974; Livermorium (Z=116) and Tennessine (Z=117) are named after American toponyms, but they were actually discovered in Dubna, Russia

Read more sciencemag.org

via reddit.com

neP6Y Today I learned that the genome of Golden Delicious apples has been mapped, and they have over twice as many genes as humans (57,000 genes vs. 25,000 genes).
kWjE TIL that since 1985 the government of Saudi Arabia has destroyed about 95% of the holy city of Mecca in order to make way for the construction of hotels, apartments, parking lots, etc. There are now less than 20 structures that date back to the period of Muhammad.
G8LJ TIL that the “collapsed dorsal fin” you see on killer whales in aquatic theme parks like SeaWorld is usually a consequence of captivity.
XRBE TIL that WWII soldier Audie Murphy single-handedly held off an entire company of German soldiers for an hour and then led a successful counter attack while wounded and without ammo. He became one of the highest decorated soldiers in US history.
DDae TIL Northen Ireland segregates Irish nationalist and unionist neighbourhoods through so-called “peace walls”, some of which can go on for miles.