› added 9 years ago

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TIL that a retired grocery store clerk from Yuba City, California is the fourth cousin once removed of the Earl of Essex and will become the Earl of Essex if the current Earl dies without a legitimate son.

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Eg8ZX TIL the "OMG" cosmic ray was (probably) a proton travelling at 99.99999999999999999999951% of the speed of light. It would take 215,000 years for a photon to gain a 1 centimeter lead on this proton.
WkOGX TIL: Before there were Mexican Federales, there were Mexican Rurales
NL5Q TIL Turkey Vultures were used by natural gas companies to pinpoint pipeline leaks. Natural gas is odorless, so gas companies add the chemical ethyl mercaptan so that people can smell gas leaks. Ethyl mercaptan is emitted by putrefying animal carcasses. So leaks in gas pipelines attract vultures.
jNxBX TIL the reason that men’s testicles are not internal organs like female ovaries is because sperm cannot survive at our internal body temperature. They require a lower temperature which is why they hang down, but also why the scrotum shrivels up when it is too cold.
Wer4 TIL that part of the reason it is so hard to get Pandas to mate is that the female Panda is only “in the mood” for a short period in the spring; their sexual interest lasts just 24-72 hours per year.