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TIL that the Coelacanth, a prehistoric fish more related to reptiles and mammals than modern fish, was thought to have gone extinct 65 million years ago until fishermen caught one in 1938

Read more vertebrates.si.edu

via reddit.com

dD66d TIL Kepler discovered angular speeds of each planet at aphelion and perihelion, as measured from the Sun, produced consonant ratios. He wrote each planet followed scales: Mercury has the most musical range while Venus only has one note
jmMj TIL that a da Vinci painting “Madonna of the Yarwinder” was stolen from Drumlanrig Castle by two thieves posing as tourists who claimed to be undercover police. It was found four years later in a lawyer’s office in Glasgow.
kOEdE TIL the longest lighting strike on record was 400 miles (700km) long, stretching from the Atlantic coast of Brazil into Argentina
4QaJ TIL Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (1194-1250) tried to discover a “natural language” of humans by having children raised without exposure to language. Allegedly, he never learned the answer because they all died.
d957 TIL River Pheonix was supposed to be the interviewer in Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) but died. Christian Slater took his place, and donated his entire paycheck from the movie to all of River’s favorite charities.