› added 6 years ago

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TIL because of laws passed in the 1970's to stop dishonest seed sellers in the UK and EU, thousands of historical plant varieties have been lost since only approved varieties are allowed to be sold.

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bjL7 TIL that Rod Serling, creator of The Twilight Zone, was so talkative that on a two hour car ride the rest of his family remained silent to see if Rod would notice their lack of participation. He did not, talking nonstop through the entire car ride.
8eKPV TIL many restaurants in France that are frequented by American tourists try to mislead customers into tipping, even though service is covered under the meal bill.
b96KQ TIL that Japan has a 'national fungus' - Aspergillus oryzae, or koji - which is essential for brewing sake, and making miso, soy sauce, and other traditional Japanese foods.
gGeb TIL that during American Civil War some soldier’s wounds glowed blue; soldier’s whose wounds glowed had better chance of surviving, and so the glow was called “Angel’s Glow”. Now it is known that the luminescence is due to bacteria that produce antibiotics and that live in nematodes
KZ99 TIL “Stayin’ Alive” by Bee Gees was used in a study to train medical staff to perform CPR. The song has close to 104 beats per minute, and 100-120 chest compressions per minute are recommended by the British Heart Foundation.