› added 1 year ago

53

Today I learned Winston Churchill topped the list of greatest Britons ever lived ahead of Issac Newton, Shakespeare, Darwin and Princess Diana.

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JYRkj TIL: During 1944, license plates were manufactured from pressed soybean fiberboard due to a shortage of steel caused by the war. Goats, cows, and mice reportedly enjoyed the taste of these plates, with some vehicle owners losing their plates to a snack for the animals.
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jNM7N TIL that in 1948, Congress authorized a study on heart health. The town of Framingham, MA was selected and residents began what is now one of the longest longitudinal medical studies in history. Five generations later, the Framingham Heart Study continues to provide valuable insights.
VMoeZ TIL that 27-yr-old grad student, Alexandra Elbakyan, put 50 million stolen research articles online for free. Her reason?...Worldwide liberation of knowledge from the tyranny of for-profit publishers. Many academics and longtime advocates for open scholarly research seemed to support her ideology.
PYebG TIL that in the 1960s and ‘70s Lego produced a line of bricks intended for professional use by architects and planners under the name Modulex.