› added 7 years ago

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TIL the founder of the Smithsonian, James Smithson, was a British scientist who willed his fortune to his nephew and in the event his nephew died with no heirs, to the US government to found an "Establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men"; having never visited the US.

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9GvD TIL children who learn a musical instrument begin to hear and process sounds that they couldn’t otherwise hear. This helps them develop “neurophysiological distinction” between certain sounds that can aid in literacy.
4XVxJ TIL a woman has Chimerism: she's a fraternal twin who fused together with her sibling in the womb. Now she has 2 different immune systems and 2 different bloodstreams. Her immune system's constantly fighting off her twin sister’s cells, as it recognizes them as foreign, causing autoimmune issues.
DQM8p TIL Whipped Cream & Other Delights by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass sold more copies in 1966 than either Rubber Soul or Revolver by the Beatles. Alpert had 3 of the top 5 bestselling albums that year.
XEMOD TIL: there are an estimated 200 bodies on MT Everest that hikers use as markers on their journey up the beast of a mountain, including a corpse named “green boots”.
J1XE4 TIL about half of Kauai’s 111-mile coastline is made up of beaches. It has more beaches than any other Hawaiian Island. About 97% of the island is undeveloped and is also the oldest island at 5.1 million years old, the 2nd oldest island , Oahu, is 2.2-3.4 million years old.