› added 9 years ago

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TIL that in 2008, natives of the Greek island of Lesbos appealed to a court in Athens to ban the use of the word lesbian to describe sexual attraction between women, claiming that the island’s inhabitants with their 3000 year old history are the true, original lesbians.

Read more reuters.com

via ift.tt

PYEkZ TIL that in the 1800s, Thanksgiving was basically Halloween. Poor people would knock on doors to ak “anything for Thanksgiving?” and rich kids went out dressed in rags to mock them, up until the Great Depression when the question was always answered with NO.
P1x7J TIL that when a hermit crab outgrows its shell but finds one that's too big for it, it will wait for other hermit crabs to arrive and test out the shell. The crabs line up from smallest to largest so that all of them can exchange shells (though fights over the shells may occur)
J1Y9B TIL peanuts grow through a process called “pegging,” in which the “peg” of the plant penetrates the soil
J1KkV TIL that after attending a Queen concert in LA, Michael Jackson suggested to Freddie Mercury that the band should release "Another One Bites The Dust" as a single. After doing so, the song became a worldwide hit, spending 15 weeks in the Billboard Top 10, and is Queen’s bestselling single to date.
VM750 TIL that since psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) is a known molecule, it cannot be patented. BUT the way it’s made and used can be. Already organizations and companies are applying for and getting patents for their synthesis process.