› added 11 years ago

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TIL that the reason today’s artificial banana flavoring for candy tastes so differently than an actual banana is because it is based on the Gros Michel Banana, which was nearly wiped out in the 50’s due to a fungus. The bananas we eat today are from the Cavendish family.

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4EnX TIL Mr. Rogers made a point of mentioning out loud when he was feeding his fish after he got a letter from a family whose blind daughter asked him to do so, because she couldn’t tell if the fish were being fed.
Br06r TIL that it is impossible that a planet (On this case, planet Earth) can substain it's life if it's cut in half, exposing it's core to the vacuum of space. It would eventually do a lot of stuff, incluiding dissolving it's atmosphere and ending all life on it
KY9A9 TIL about vanity height: very tall buildings often include a substantial amount of unusable space purely to make the building taller. For example, 29% of the Burj Khalifa's 829 meter height (224m) is vanity - it is still the tallest building by top floor height, but only by two meters.
jNybv TIL Princess Diana was a self-mutilator. She publicly admitted throwing herself down stairs whilst pregnant and cutting herself with razors, penknives, and other kitchen tools because of her torment over her marriage relationship.
b9YL7 TIL there is a functional link between syphilis and the popularity of codpieces in the 1500s. Syphilis showed up in Europe in 1494 shortly after Columbus returned and codpieces appeared around 1500. The codpiece protected the penis, held medicinal ointments and protected stylish clothing.