› added 11 years ago

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TIL personal genomics company 23andMe has used customer genetic information to obtain a patent to test for propensity to develop Parkinson’s disease, and has also received a patent allowing parents to hand-pick genes for their children.

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epkbk Today I learned that there is a professional peruvian footballer with the name Osama Vinladen Jiménez López, named after Osama bin Laden whose brothers name is Sadam Husein named after the former president of Iraq.
BrWwK TIL The Toba Super-eruption was a supervolcanic eruption that occurred 75,000 years ago. It has been suggested this caused a volcanic winter lasting 6-10 years. The genetic bottleneck theory says the world population declined to 1,000-10,000 breeding pairs which we are all descended from.
Z8dwQ TIL George Lucas named Tosche Station on Tatooine after Dave Toschi, the San Francisco Police Department’s chief investigator in the Zodiac Killer case
ve6D TIL that drying your hands with paper towel will reduce the bacterial count by 45 - 60% on your hands. However, using a hand dryer will increase the bacteria on your hands by up to 255% because it blows out bacteria already living in the, conveniently, warm moist environment.
7rgYp TIL that builders of Japan's Nijō castle created squeaky floors to prevent ninja assassins from sneaking in. The floors were designed so that just the lightest step produced a clearly audible sound, warning guards that danger is approaching and forcing a ninja to abandon his plots for the night.