› added 6 months ago

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Today I learned that Popeye’s famous spinach-fueled strength came from a chemist’s typo: - In 1870, German scientist Erich von Wolf accidentally wrote that spinach had 35mg of iron per 100g (instead of 3.5mg) due to a misplaced decimal point. - The error went uncorrected until 1937 (67 Years)

69yG8 TIL that a "cloudburst" is a sudden and extreme downpour of rain over a small area within a short period of time, often accompanied by strong winds and sometimes hail and thunderstorm. They are especially common in mountainous areas and have caused several deadly flash floodings on record.
mxrR TIL that in 2000, media mogul Ted Turner donated $35 million to cover UN dues owed by the US, which the Republican controlled US Congress refused to pay.
WkKao TIL Rita Hayworth, "The Love Goddess", was first billed as Rita Cansino and was judged "too Mediterranean" before having her hairline raised by painful electrolysis, changed her hair colour to dark red and took her mother's maiden name. She was a third generation professional dancer.
O1n1 TIL: During the Third Reich, there was a programme called Lebensborn, where ‘racially pure’ women slept with SS officers in the hopes of producing Aryan children. An estimated 20,000 children were born during 12 years.
nkMB TIL a 2005 study taught capuchin monkeys the value of money using small silver coins. During one experiment, a monkey was observed trading a coin for sex. The monkey who received the coin promptly traded it for a grape.