› added 11 years ago

123

TIL that according to a principle in evolutionary biology know as “Foster’s Rule” or the “Island Rule”, members of a species get smaller or bigger depending on the resources available in the environment, leading to miniature island versions of elephants, mammoths, hippos, deer, and others.

N7PG8 TIL that Americanitis - a “condition” caused by too much stress, too little sleep, rushed meals and the fast paced advance of technology - was “cured” by the Great Depression.
xeVw TIL The first contestant to win the American “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” used the phone a friend lifeline on his last question just to tell his dad he won.
X0EvR TIL that of the 24 Franklin Counties in the United States, Franklin County, Idaho, is the only one that is not named after Benjamin Franklin; it is named after Franklin D. Richards, an Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
X0nYr TIL In 1942, the Japanese invaded the Aleutian island of Attu, capturing 42 Unangan (Aleut) residents and deporting them to a prison camp on Hokkaido. In 1943 the American forces retook the island in intense combat. Only 26 of the Unangan captives survived and none ever returned to Attu.
dD8mE TIL that before Geronimo ever learned how to properly use a rifle, he would run at armed enemies in a zig-zag pattern until he was close enough to use his knife. He claimed that the mountain spirits spoke to him and said, "You will never die in battle, nor... by gun. I will guide your arrows.”