› added 10 years ago

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TIL that sea otters lick and fluff their newborn for hours, causing their pup’s fur to retain enough air to act as a floatation device.

oGWR TIL Fred Astaire broke his wrist while riding his grandson’s skateboard. He was later awarded a life membership in the National Skateboard Society.
NXbNJ TIL that in the UK, income tax remained controversial until well into the 20th century as it was viewed as an intrusion on privacy. The window tax was introduced as a way to tax in proportion to wealth, but without the controversy. More windows on your house meant higher taxes.
4kvQb TIL that Walt Disney's 1928 animated short "Steamboat Willie" featuring Mickey Mouse is now part of the public domain after having finished its 95th year as a copyrighted work. This means that this specific version of MM is freely available to use in new creative works across all artistic mediums.
oRpnR TIL that over 60% of global iron reserves and most of the iron ore currently mined were created by precambrian bacteria. These cyanobacteria caused the Great Oxygenation Event, where free oxygen became much more common on Earth. Some of this oxygen combined with iron to form banded iron formations.
p8OPb TIL On August 23, 2017 Rich Hill pitched nine no-hit innings, only to lose the game on a walk-off home run by Josh Harrison in the 10th inning. The perfect game was broken up by a ninth-inning error, for the first time in MLB history. Only 303 no-hitters have been thrown in MLB history since 1876.