› added 6 years ago

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TIL: the Club-winged manakin has evolved solid wing bones which it can shake 100 times per second to create sounds to attract a mate

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M7Q88 TIL In 1920, the worlds largest lightbulb manufacturers (including GE) formed the "Phoebus Cartel". The cartel lowered operational costs and standardized the life span of incandescent light bulbs at 1,000 hrs (down from 2,500 hrs). These were the primary lightbulbs sold up until the 21st century.
geQA TIL that Wilhelm Furtwängler, a leading German conductor, called Hitler a “hissing street pedlar” and an “enemy of the human race”. He also refused to give the Nazi salute, wrote public letters denouncing antisemitism, and once got into a shouting match with Hitler over Nazi cultural policy.
yQXOp TIL the 'Cowboy Load' - in the Wild West, it was most common for 6-shot revolvers to only be loaded with 5 rounds. A live bullet in the chamber below the hammer of a 19th century single-action revolver can be set off with a sharp knock, hence it was not desirable to carry one fully loaded
VMA0Z TIL that in 2006, 75% of Chinese didn't know that sharks were killed to make shark fin soup. But now, 91% of Chinese support a nationwide ban, thanks to activism work by Yao Ming and others
R16l TIL That notorious mobster James “Whitey” Bulger actually hated the nickname “Whitey” and, instead, preferred to be called “Boots”