› added 7 years ago

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TIL Theodore Roosevelt was shot in the chest during a speech in 1912. He continued the 90 minute speech anyway and said "Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot, but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose."

Read more theodoreroosevelt.org

via reddit.com

W7V4d TIL that between March 1910 and September 1911 a pressurized oil well explosion formed the Lakeview Gusher, releasing 9 million barrels of crude oil and flooding the area in rivers of oil. It's a "miracle" that the oil field had not caught fire and the event remains the worst oil spill in history.
R7GAa TIL that Elizabeth Coleman White, whose family owned a cranberry farm, teamed up with botanist Frederick Coville to develop and cultivate the first blueberry crop. White paid people for each bush they found with blueberries that measured at least 5/8 of an inch. Coville uprooted and grafted them.
d8xDr TIL there are microorganisms living on the seafloor that reproduce only once every 10,000 years and have been alive for millions. These are likely the oldest living things on Earth.
4kNob TIL about government-caused deaths of over 10000 people during the prohibition era because the govt decided to taint industrial alcohol to dissuade bootleggers from using this cheaper and accessible option to produce illicit liquor - with intent to scare general public away from consuming alcohol
9YJLG TIL A leopard gecko's tail houses much of its spinal cord; when grabbed, it detaches, a blood clot forms, radial glia (RG) cells multiply & regrow a tail. Humans lose RGs as adults & scar tissue would block RGs. Scientists believe RGs & bypassing scar tissue are keys to human spinal cord healing.