› added 11 years ago

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TIL that nectarines and peaches are the same species, with a gene controlling whether the skin is fuzzy or smooth

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NXLMN TIL there exists a research group dedicated to identifying and classifying plastic bread clips - the Holotypic Occlupanid Research Group (HORG)
N5AJ TIL that Shell abandoned an oil well in Niger in 1977. By 2004, an estimated 20,000 barrels had leaked, polluting groundwater and ruining cropland. Clean up will cost $1bn.
8QwK TIL that Jonathan Lee Riches got the Guinness world record for having filed the highest number of lawsuits in the world. When he heard of this, he sued the Guinness Book of World Records
jNGWM TIL Jack Fishman, co-created naloxone in 1961, but it was not widely used for decades. He died in 2013 before seeing the full impact of the crisis and how his invention saved so many lives
m1KNM TIL that a rare cat coat pattern known as "salty liquorice" or "salmiak" has been discovered, where black fur fades to white. This is due to a genetic mutation, where a chunk of DNA is missing, making the coat pattern unique.