› added 13 years ago

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TIL 10,000 shipping containers are lost at sea each year and 10% of those hold toxic chemicals which may leak into the ocean

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0dAAA TIL telomerase is a naturally forming enzyme that helps maintain the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes, thus preventing cells from dying. When mice were genetically engineered to produce 10 times the normal levels of telomerase, they lived 50% longer than normal mice.
16nGr TIL that the author of the thriller The Four Just Men offered a £500 prize to whoever guessed the killer's name, but forgot to state there would only be one winner. The book became a bestseller but bankrupted him, as he was legally bound to pay every reader who answered correctly.
neBPd TIL: Mill Ends Park in Portland Oregon is the smallest park in the World. The park is a small circle 2 ft across, with a total area of 452 square inches. Intended to be the site for a light pole; When the pole failed to appear, Dick Fagan (a columnist) planted flowers and named it after his column.
VBv50 TIL about ortolan bunting, the French practice of force-feeding a bird, dunking it in liquor, frying it in its own fat, then eating it whole. It is customary to cover one’s face with a cloth while consuming it to “hide oneself from God’s judgment.” Their hunting and consumption is banned in the EU.
Djnj TIL that otters engage in necrophelia so much that it’s beginning to impact their populations