› added 7 years ago

859

TIL that ostriches are sexually aroused by humans.

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W7p59 TIL the Australian Navy formally enlisted a six-year-old girl in order to give her medical treatment onboard a navy ship; regulations did not allow for civilians to get medical treatment on navy ships. The girl's official rating was 'mascot', and she was 'discharged' after 8 days of 'service'.
5YWlR TIL had it not been for the Norman Conquest of 1066, the English we speak today would have been much different and more restrictive. The merging of Old English and Norman French led to Modern English being sort of hybrid of the two, giving another shade of meaning to words such as "swine" vs "pork".
66Vl TIL The inventor of laughing gas became addicted to chloroform and one day, delirious, rushed out into the street and threw sulfuric acid on people. When his mind cleared and he realized what he had done, he killed himself, blotting out the pain with chloroform.
d8g6r TIL In 1943 German student Sophie Scholl was sentenced to death for her role in the White Rose non-violent resistence group. The entire process of being taken from her cell to being executed by guillotine was recorded as having taken 48 seconds.
VBEPD TIL Cooperative breeding (communal raising of the young) in animals is directly linked to a greater chance of altruism (helping someone for no reward).