› added 1 year ago

62

TIL 46 U.S. states allow you to use any name you want whenever you want as long as there is no fraud intended. Your consistent use of a preferred name is expected to build up unofficial records showing it. Changing your name through a court is only needed to force institutions to recognize a change.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

jN7n TIL that Major Charles Sweeny, pilot of the B29 that nuked Nagasaki, ignored direct orders during the bombing, nearly causing the plane to crash from low fuel. Instead of investigating Sweeny’s conduct, the chief of staff for the Strategic Air Forces simply stated “You fucked up, didn’t you, Chuck?”
R57O6 TIL that sleeping babies who are dropped from a height will spread eagle to break their fall. This is called the Palmar reflex and is evidence to show that humans were once tree-dwellers.
w0wW TIL that earthworms do NOT surface to avoid drowning when it rains… Instead, they come to the surface to move overland. Since worms breathe through their skin, the skin must stay wet in order for the oxygen to pass through it. And earthworms can actually survive for several weeks under water…
l7RNK TIL a band released blank album cover captioned “We had an album cover we wanted to use, but after getting dropped by our label we can no longer afford to use it. So instead you can stare at this blank square.”
v18k8 TIL That a 99-year-old war veteran who is walking 100 laps of his garden before he turns 100 has raised more than £12m for the NHS.