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TIL in 1990, Dr. Mary-Claire King discovered the human gene BRCA1 which is linked to breast cancer. Soon after, Myriad Genetics cloned and patented it. She was sent a cease-and-desist letter to stop researching it. Finally in 2013, the US Supreme Court ruled that human genes cannot be patented.

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AD7Kd Til - The capacity to lie has also been claimed to be possessed by non-humans in language studies with great apes. In one instance, gorilla Koko, when asked who tore a sink from the wall, pointed to one of her handlers and then laughed.
jb7M TIL that in 1795, French cavalry charged across the frozen bay at Den Helder to capture a trapped Dutch fleet. It is the only time in history a naval fleet has been defeated by a cavalry charge.
GYdpN TIL US Senator William Proxmire of Wisconsin wanted the US to ratify the UN Genocide Convention. He gave a speech on the need to ratify it each day the Senate was in session from 1967-1986 (a total of 3,211 times) until the US Senate finally ratified it on Feb. 11th, 1986 in an 83-11 vote.
d8kxd TIL China's Qing Dynasty attempted various reforms to try to save itself. Local assemblies had begun to meet in 1909 and the dynasty had worked out a timetable for creating a constitutional monarchy, with a constitution planned for 1912 and a parliament the following year
wne1 TIL Carl Sagan describes the Bermuda Triangle as a statistical fallacy. He explains, “Why is it always planes and ships that get lost? It’s because they can sink in water. If we started losing trains–if we had a Duluth Triangle in which trains began disappearing–that would be interesting.”