› added 9 years ago

325

TIL that Asian-Americans needed a 1550 (on a scale of 1600) SAT to have an equal chance of getting into an elite college as black students with an 1100.

Read more princeton.edu

via reddit.com

Xy4Q TIL that in 2013, scientists were able to plant and grow an extinct tree from 2000 year old seeds
BgW4k TIL the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, took its name from Roman hero Cincinnatus and also the Society of the Cincinnati, a group committed to the virtues of the Roman hero.
P1jXG TIL in 1985, the Canadian government banned the use of the name "Beef patty" by Jamaican patty vendors. The legal definition of "patty" at the time only described hamburger patties. After community outrage and mobilisation, vendors were allowed to call their products "Jamaican patties".
W7Ead TIL Simon Weston was a British soldier during the Falklands war. His face was heavily disfigured by fire, when his troop ship was attacked in an Argentine air strike, required 96 operations to recover. He since made friends with the pilot who dropped the bomb that injured him so severely.
AwDa TIL that the cloth headrest/cover on a train or airline seat is called an antimacassar, and is so called as its original purpose was to prevent the macassar oil used by Victorian men as hair gel from damaging the fabric.