› added 9 years ago

541

TIL that the Confucius genealogical line as the longest family tree in history, with 86 recorded generations over 2,500 years: the Chinese philosopher (551 to 479 BCE) is thought to have 3 million descendants all over the world.

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vKEK TIL that Jews were blamed (and killed) for the spread of the Black Death due to being somewhat unaffected by it… (It was due to their isolation & better hygiene.)
4XELw At least one-third of early deaths could be prevented if everyone moved to a vegetarian diet, Harvard scientists have calculated.
YpPlZ TIL that we humans have been dependent since 1977 on the blue blood of horseshoe crabs to keep our medicines safe. The crabs have been 'bled' for a chemical which is used to test for bacterial contamination in drugs. Finally, pharmaceutical companies are committing to a synthetic version.
QOeX TIL mangos belong to the same family (Anacardiaceae) as cashews or pistachios.
yVlwv TIL the 16-year-old son of a pilot was permitted to sit in the cockpit of an Aeroflot flight while it was on autopilot. However, he disengaged the autopilot, causing a chain of events that resulted in the plane crashing and the death of all 63 passengers and 12 crew members on board.