› added 11 years ago

261

TIL giant pandas can survive on bamboo only because of gut bacteria

Read more phys.org

via reddit.com

GAlXE TIL an untrue myth says that the president of the Titanic's operating company, J Bruce Ismay, stole a seat on a lifeboat. Actually, the myth came from deceptive newspaper stories. (The newspaper's owner had a vendetta against Ismay) A Nazi film later portrayed Ismay as a Jewish businessman.
RyVj TIL that humans are more genetically similar to cats (90% in common) than dogs (82%).
1dg7 TIL that, in 1844, the Philippines moved from one side of the International Date Line to the other, which means that December 31, 1844 did not exist for them.
N7RYQ TIL that when he was 8, George Carlin's aunt worked for the publisher of the Sunday newspaper funnies. Through his aunt, Carlin gained early access to the comics and would impress his classmates by predicting each weeks stories.
aKmJ TIL Dr. Barry Marshall was convinced that H. pylori bacteria causes stomach ulcers, but no one believed him. Since it was illegal to test this theory on humans, he drank the bacteria himself, developed ulcers within days, treated them with antibiotics, and went on to win a Nobel Prize.