› added 12 years ago

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TIL Richard Owen (who created the word Dinosaur) exploited his crippled peer Gideon Mantell, by claiming ownership and renaming his discoveries. After Mantels suicide, Owen wrote his obituary calling Mantell a mediocre Scientist. He then had Mantells spine removed, pickled, and stored.

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4X8KX TIL that approximately 70 people spent four years in Madagascar collecting and handling over 1 million golden orb weaver spiders to use their silk in the production of an 11-by-4-foot (3.4-by-1.2m) “golden” embroidered cloth, the largest ever of it’s kind.
gJB4 TIL Talia Shire (Adrian from the Rocky movies) is Francis Ford Coppola’s sister, Jason Shwartzman’s mom, and Nicolas Cage’s aunt.
v5JL TIL of high speed tape, an adhesive that closely resembles duct tape and is frequently used on planes as a temporary patch to any punctures, scrapes, or surface damage. It is FAA-approved and can withstand extreme temperatures and high speeds.
W7e8X TIL that E.T.'s race appears in star wars the phantom menace and it is said that E.T. thought it was home when first seeing a kid in a yoda costume
0wnv1 TIL Most humans see about a million colors due to three retinal cones: red, green, and blue. Some humans have a fourth cone for orange light and can see 100 million variations in color.