› added 8 years ago

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TIL that mollusk teeth are made of the strongest biological material in nature. At 5 times stronger than spider silk, a spaghetti-sized strand can hold the weight of an adult female hippopotamus.

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b1nN TIL In the 1950’s, during the height of the Red Scare, Einstein offered to appear as a character witness in defense of W.E.B. Du Bois who was being indicted by the feds for failing to register as a “foreign agent.” Einstein’s offer made the judge drop the case.
yQL4J TIL Yellowstone isn't actually overdue to erupt. Even if volcanoes were set on some kind of timer (which they're not), there have only been 3 recorded eruptions. This isn't enough for a reliable average. And even if it was, we would still be 100,000 years off.
wkJ1 TIL: The money required to eradicate hunger for everyone in the world has been estimated at 30 billion per year…about as much as the world spends on the military every eight days.
W7X68 TIL Paramount studio set three conditions for the casting of Marlon Brando in The Godfather: He would have to take a fee below what he usually received; he would have to agree to accept financial responsibility for any production delays his behavior cost; and he had to submit to a screen test.
XnaE TIL that mothers are more likely to abuse their children.