› added 4 years ago

84

TIL Ducks can keep their eyes open underwater due to a transparent third, sideways eyelid called a Nictitating membrane or haw. All birds have it and even humans have a vestigial remnant called the plica semilunaris.

QVBd TIL Magpies are considered one of the most intelligent animals in the world, and the only non-mammal species able to recognize itself in a mirror test.
85Ra TIL in 1985, John Fogerty of CCR was sued for sounding like himself in his solo music. The cost: $1.1 million in legal fees. He pushed it to the Supreme Court to fight the double standard of defendants not being awarded the fees & won, setting a precedent that defends artists from corporate sabotage
nW6yP TIL that in fashion, Labor Day is (or was) considered the last day when it was acceptable to wear white or seersucker. The tradition lies with the migration of wealthy 19th century New Yorkers back from their summer-home Newport Mansions and the accompanying change back from summer clothes.
LQvjQ TIL there's a legally blind man who had his eye lenses removed and since then he is able to see celestial objects normally invisible to the naked eye. His name is Tim Doucette and he has his own observatory in Nova Scotia.
QNZE6 TIL the British National Archives found 29 forgeries, planted within 12 of their files, which all support elaborate claims made about WWII by historian Martin Allen, who is believed to be the only person to check out all those files. But the CPS decided not to prosecute, in part due to his health.