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TIL that the longest confirmed record of sperm storage in a female vertebrate to date belongs to a rattlesnake. Using DNA analyses, researchers confirmed that a female eastern diamond-backed rattlesnake was able to store viable sperm for at least 67 months before giving birth to a healthy brood.

Read more journals.plos.org

via reddit.com

P1Pyn TIL L. Frank Baum, The author of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" proposed exterminating Native Americans in a newspaper column he wrote before turning to children's literature, at a time when the animosity between Americans and Natives ran deep.
N7Wee TIL Michael Collins had spinal fusion surgery in 1968 and was removed from the crew of Apollo 8. It caused a rotation in astronaut assignments that landed him into a prime position on the historic Apollo 11 moon landing
loyPG TIL Henry Heimlich, the inventor of the Heimlich maneuver, has a son, Peter, who is devoted to exposing him as a serial liar and con artist. Peter says his father paid off the study that persuaded the American Red Cross to change its response to choking to Heimlich's.
e1gg TIL that women’s fertility affects their preference for male partners. When most fertile, they prefer men with more “masculine” traits; when pregnant or in a non-fertile part of the cycle, they seek the “nice-guy provider”. Men can tell; lap dancers earn more money when ovulating.
7lNO TIL there have been almost 7,000 cases of whooping cough in California this year, affecting mostly unvaccinated children ages 7-16.