› added 5 years ago

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TIL Wine, Beer and Cider can make hay fever worse, whilst Gin and Vodka are less likely to trigger a reaction.

wLBa6 TIL eight percent of our DNA consists of remnants of ancient viruss, and another 40 percent is made up of repetitive strings of genetic letters that is also thought to have that origin.
wLNV7 TIL in June 1942, LBJ was supposed to be an observer on the Wabash Cannonball, a B-26 bomber in the South Pacific. Before takeoff, LBJ left the plane to relieve himself. By the time he returned, his seat was taken, so he couldn't get back on. The Wabash wound up crashing, killing everyone on board.
D1lvg TIL: Tomatoes are self-pollinating, meaning insects or wind aren't required. Instead they have flowers that contain both the male and female parts, so more than one plant is not needed for reproduction. The pollen falls within the flower to pollinate itself.
rNmdW TIL after fighting in WWI, A. A. Milne had PTSD so severe, he was reminded of whizzing bullets by buzzing bees, and cannons firing by balloons popping. Wanting a lighthearted distraction and a way to explain to his son the difficulties of war, he wrote Winnie the Pooh stories as his way of doing so.
v1YXD TIL Art Bell set a Guinness World Record by staying on the air for 116 hours and 15 minutes. Using the money raised on air, Bell chartered a plane to fly to Vietnam and rescue 130 stranded Vietnamese orphans, who were eventually brought to the United States and adopted by American families.