› added 5 years ago

1947

TIL that Sperm whales regularly hunt and kill giant squid, resulting in epic battles between the two giant animals. We know this (despite the fact it has never been seen or filmed) due to scars on the heads of sperm whales

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d68Q TIL an experimental program called Mincome existed in Canada in the 1970’s and gave everyone a minimum income just for being a citizen. It resulted in slightly fewer hours work, but saw an overall increase in health, happiness, and educational achievement.
7JGO TIL Napoleon demanded a method of communication that would not require light or sound. ‘Night Writing’ was developed as a tactile military code, but proved too difficult for Napoleon’s troops to learn and was rejected. Night writing became the basis for braille.
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EnQX TIL during a screening of “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” at the White House President Reagan told Steven Speilberg “there are a number of people in this room who know that everything on that screen is absolutely true”. According to Spielberg the President said this with a totally straight face.
YplXG TIL It's estimated one in a billion bones gets fossilized. By that calculation the entire fossil legacy of the 320-odd million people alive in the US today will equate to approximately 60 bones – or a little over a quarter of a human skeleton.