› added 3 months ago

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TIL that Princess Elizabeth took her corgi Susan, a gift from King George VI for her 18th birthday, on her 1947 honeymoon. Hidden under carriage rugs during the wedding parade, Susan later joined the couple at Broadlands, even riding in a Jeep driven by Prince Philip.

VBVDB TIL cats are the number 1 killer of birds in Canada. It's estimated that keeping cats indoors could save 200 million birds each year, and cats have contributed to the extinction of 34 species of birds
K7MQ TIL: Concerned about the censorship of human genitalia on extraterrestrial messages, one MIT researcher recorded & transmitted the sound of a ballerina’s vagina contracting. The transmission was intercepted & cut off by the US Air Force but parts of it managed to reach two stars in 1996 & 1998.
MeajA TIL Lighthouses had different techniques for rotating the light, most being too slow, making the light less visible. Augustin Fresnel proposed a mercury flotation system in 1825. Despite some lenses weighing over 6,000 lbs. the design reduced friction, increased rotation, and ultimately saved lives.
p8dP4 TIL the Crips main founder was appalled to find his organization escalating from fist-fights of his era to gun fights, and hoped to build a truce with the Bloods before distancing himself and ultimately dying in a drive-by.
NXZv6 TIL that romance novels are the most popular literature genre. By 1991 46% of all US mass-market paperbacks were romance. Half of romance publisher Harlequin's customers purchased 30 novels a month. 25% of all Americans read a romance novel in 2008.