› added 4 years ago

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TIL when the first gene was isolated at Harvard in 1969, "The only reason the news was released to the press was to emphasize its negative aspects," rather than the potential advantages we see today

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VMJ9B TIL that fungi are more closely related to animals than to plants.
DQN7g TIL Benedict Arnold’s crypt was repurposed into a kindergarten classroom and his headstone is a wall decoration.
KX7J TIL that the Iron Chefs know the secret ingredient in advance, and cook all of their food twice - first for the cameras and then again so its still tasty when they get around to judging.
ORoL TIL that Norman Mineta’s baseball bat was confiscated when he was sent to a Japanese American internment camp as a boy. As a Congressman, he was sent a $1500 bat, which he had to send back, as it exceeded a price limit on gifts. He was quoted as saying, “The damn government’s taken my bat again.”
ejjb TIL that a rival butcher collected 25 cats, starved them, and then snuck them into his competitors store after it shut down for the day. The cats ate out the Butcher Store before they could be attacked by police