› added 4 years ago

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TIL Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have succeeded in extracting a complete human genome from a thousands-of-years old "chewing gum."

Read more healthsciences.ku.dk

via reddit.com

vPGy7 TIL that Arthur Rostron who was the captain of the RMS Carpathia when it rescued Titanic survivors, was known for having a deep attachment to the ships he served on. When the RMS Mauretania was taken away to be scrapped, Rostron was too upset to go on the last journey with his former vessel.
grdoW TIL that at the Council of Nicea in 325, a priest called Arius proposed a heretical belief so strong he got punched by St. Nicholas, aka Santa Claus. Several years later, Arius died from rectal prolapse and according to legend, defecating out parts of his organs.
MZ4m TIL a Roman legionary trained often by regular marching for 18 miles in 5 hours and then speed marching for 21 miles in 5 hours in a single day, all the while carrying a backpack of 45 pounds and armor of 20 pounds.
GYWn4 TIL that Fucking Hell is a German Pilsner or pale lager with an alcohol content of 4.9%. It is named after the village of Fucking in Austria; hell is the German word for 'pale' and a typical description of this kind of beer
NJae TIL That, over the course of 144 episodes, only one character in Buffy the Vampire Slayer died of natural causes. The following episode, which examines Buffy’s mourning/reaction to the first death she couldn’t have prevented, is consistently ranked as one of the best television episodes of all time.