› added 4 years ago

457

TIL that cavemen had relatively straight teeth and that crooked teeth are a modern phenomenon

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5xMp TIL that Spiral stairs in medieval times were typically wound in a clockwise direction, to place attacking swordsmen (who were most often right-handed) at a disadvantage.
9wpDD TIL actor Marlon Brando was an avid conga player, and he patented a self-tuning drum head shortly before he passed away.
yQBZV TIL most of the caffeine in soft drinks is actually synthetically produced in Chinese pharmaceutical plants
KO0Oa TIL there are plaques on the grounds of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York commemorating all of the generals who served in the Revolution. One plaque bears only a rank and a date but no name: "major general… born 1740" belonging to the traitor Benedict Arnold.
4X6Ko TIL of a woman born with 3 fingers on her right hand. After a tragic accident, she lost her right hand and later developed a phantom limb...with 5 fingers, suggesting her brain "knew" what a hand was supposed to feel like.