› added 6 years ago

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TIL that the name "white rhino" came from a miscommunication: Englishmen mistook the Dutch word "wijde" (wide) for white. White rhinos and black rhinos are actually the same color, grey.

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pY9AG TIL Dogs yawn to deflect a threat. If a person or another animal approaches a dog, that dog may avert his gaze and yawn. It's a dog's way of saying that he feels threatened or anxious
bbZE TIL that in the middle of the Pacific Ocean there is an area where spacecraft pieces entering orbit generally land, or crash. It’s called the “Spacecraft Cemetery” and its wreckage includes the Mir Space Station.
GA7k7 TIL An estimated 50.000 Irish were made into indentured servants by Cromwell after he took Ireland in 1653.
ZpYM4 TIL People brought their kids to watch Alien in the theaters (many apparently thinking it was going to be something more akin to Star Wars)
5V1Y9 TIL: That on December 19, 1983, Jodie Foster was detained by U.S. customs agents at Logan International Airport for possessing a single gram of cocaine. She was charged with a misdemeanor and placed on one year's probation.