› added 10 years ago

75

TIL Xu QinXian, the commander of China’s most elite army in 1989, refused to open fire on civilians at Tiananmen, stating: “the People’s Army has never in its history been used to suppress the people, I absolutely refuse to besmirch this historical record!” He was court martialled but not executed.

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JE74 TIL there is controversy about scientists naming a protein “sonic hedgehog”. A mutation in this protein can cause serious birth defects and many scientists/clinicians dislike the idea of telling parents their child has “a mutation in their sonic hedgehog”
pPpG TIL that due to generations of healthier diet, the average American soldier was several inches taller than the average British soldier at the time of the American Revolution
Z8ROD TIL that fun little bit of a cat's outer ear is called 'Henry's Pocket'
jEBa TIL that you need to “prove” you’re gay to the Turkish military by showing “photographic evidence”, basically showing a picture of yourself having sex as the “bottom”, because being “top” doesn’t necessarily mean you’re gay
G0yQ TIL that a man once made a deal to pay a then 90-year old woman 2500 franc a month in order to inherit her aparment when she died. She eventually outlived the man with him dying 30 years later. The woman became the oldest person on earth, living to be 122.