› added 4 years ago

68

TIL Le Pétomane was a French professional farter. His act involved sound effects of cannon fire and thunderstorms, as well as playing "'O Sole Mio" and "La Marseillaise" on an ocarina through his anus. He could also blow out a candle yards away. His audience included royalty and Sigmund Freud.

7mBx TIL a teacher in Queens resigned after an investigation revealed he’d used 11 sick days to compete in professional wrestling matches, once on a televised “SmackDown!” match against Kurt Angle.
LQDLm TIL about the "Year Without a Summer". In 1816 a volcanic eruption in Indonesia led to unusual weather worldwide, including snowfall in June. This caused crop failures and also led to Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein", which she wrote while stuck indoors due to incessant rainfall.
P1gZJ TIL that stock dilution is the decrease in existing shareholders' ownership percentage of a company as a result of the company issuing new equity. New equity increases the total shares outstanding which has a dilutive effect on the ownership percentage of existing shareholders.
ep0lD TIL mammalian placentas have the genes of both parents. The mother's side of the placenta contains her genes but on the embryo's side are paternally imprinted causing what animal breeders call the "Paternal Grandsire Effect" causing certain traits to skip a generation.
5YQwn TIL Ferret means "little thief" and a group of them is called a "business". Also, if excited, they perform a behavior called the "weasel war dance".