› added 8 years ago

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TIL when evolutionary biologist J. B. S. Haldane was asked by some theologians what could be inferred about the mind of the Creator based on his scientific work, he responded “An inordinate fondness for beetles.”

oLg7 TIL a man in Charlotte, North Carolina spent $1,200 to convert his diesel car to run on vegetable oil. He was fined $1,000 by the state for not paying gasoline taxes, and told he would need to post a $2,500 bond before using the oil
9wdn6 TIL Downtown Winnipeg had the same skyline for years since 1991 and it was rare to see a construction crane. Now the city is focusing on density and building taller skyscrapers; its tallest building, 300 Main, houses 1,500 residents
5Y7YR TIL that "on January 13, 1958, Klansmen burned a cross on the lawn of a Lumbee American Indian woman in the town of St. Pauls, North Carolina as "a warning" because she was dating a white man." At their next rally, a group of 500 armed Lumbee encircled the klansmen and opened fire.
ZJnB TIL Coke created Tab Clear as a “kamikaze” product solely to confuse consumers and kill sales of Crystal Pepsi. Within months Coke succeeded and both products were dead.
0wKy1 TIL of Mariya Tsukanova, a Soviet medic during WW2. She saved dozens of lives, and took up a machine gun, firing until she lost consciousness from injuries. Being outnumbered, she was brutally tortured and executed by the Japanese and killed. She was named "Hero of the Soviet Union." posthumously.