"TIL Norway sends The UK a christmas tree every year to thank UK for saving Norway in WW2"
"TIL in the early 90s LL Cool J shared with his grandma that he couldn't survive as a rapper now that gangsta rap was popular. His grandma responded, "Oh baby, just knock them out!" which inspired him to write 'Mama Said Knock You Out' a grammy award winning certified platnum single."
"TIL that the Magic Eraser has no chemical solvents in it. Instead it is a special foam with super sharp microscopic edges that basically scrapes off dirt."
"TIL Flowers exposed to the playback sound of a flying bee produce sweeter nectar within 3 minutes, with sugar concentration averaging 20% higher."
"TIL The founder of Sony hired an outspoken critic of their products so they could make better products. 20 years later, he became the president of Sony."
"TIL that the "Perfect Aryan" poster child that was widely used in Nazi propaganda was actually Jewish. The photo was selected from a Nazi-held contest, where the photographer of the baby had submitted the photo as an ironic joke."
"TIL that in 1845 79 people died in a bridge collapse that happened because a large crowd had gathered to watch a clown in a bathtub be pulled up a river by four geese."
"TIL that Supai, AZ is the most remote community in the contiguous US. It is 8 miles from the nearest road and is only accessible by foot, mule, or helicopter. It is the only place in the United States where mail is still carried in and out by mules."
"TIL there's an unexplained global effect called "The Hum" only heard by about 2-4% of the world's population. The phenomenon was recorded as early as the 1970s, and its possible causes range from industrial environments, to neurological reasons, to tinnitus, to fish."
"TIL that the disability with the highest unemployment rate is actually schizophrenia, at 70-90%"
"TIL in 1982, Byron Peiss wrote a book called the Secret. In it, there are clues to 12 treasure boxes hidden in various places all around the US and Canada. As of 2022, only 3 of the 12 boxes have ever been found. If a box is discovered, you can exchange it for bragging rights and a precious gem"
"TIL Ladybugs are extremely promiscuous, and as a result have rampant STD'S"
"TIL A 2017 study found that the introduction of iodized salt in 1924 raised the IQ for the one-quarter of the population most deficient in iodine."
"TIL that breast cancer used to be known as "Nun's disease" due to the higher prevalence amongst nuns, who were at increased risk due to their celibate lifestyle. An association between reproductive history and cancer risk wasn't proven for about 250 years after it was associated with nuns."
"TIL Lucky Charms were invented by a General Mills employee who chopped Circus Peanut candies into a bowl of Cheerios."
"TIL Queen Sophie of the Netherlands’ marriage with King William was so turbulent that when she died, she was buried in her wedding dress because she viewed her life ended on the day she got married."
"TIL In the 1990s Marvel released their financial reports in comic book form. The comics featured characters like Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk discussing revenue sources and future business plans."
"TIL Certain types of fly larvae are ideal for treating gangrene because they feed on dead and infected tissue but leave healthy tissue alone. However, because of the nature of this type of treatment, many people are reluctant to try it."
"TIL The Xerox 914, the first commercially successful photocopier, came equipped with a 'scorch eliminator'. The scorch eliminator was actually just a fire extinguisher, which was required as the device commonly caught fire."
"TIL there is a species of mushroom that infects and zombifies carpenter ants. The mushroom slowly takes control of the ant’s motor functions and leads them away from the colony to die in a place ideal for growing. Then the mushroom grows out of the ant’s head."'
"TIL a Berlin-based artist tricked Google Maps into thinking that a completely empty street was bursting with traffic by filling a wagon with 99 smartphones, opening Maps navigation on all of them, and then slowly pulling the wagon along Berlin streets."
"TIL of "Target Fixation": a phenomenon where an individual becomes so focused on an observed object (be it a target, or hazard to be avoided) that they inadvertently increase their risk of colliding with the object."
"TIL Charles Darwin spent 6 months in South America looking for a lesser rhea (an ostrich-like bird) only to have one served to him for dinner. Halfway through the meal, Darwin realized what he was eating, gathered the parts and sent them to England for taxidermy and formal classification."
"TIL about the lia radiological accident, where three Georgians discovered two abandoned radioactive sources in the forest around which "there was no snow for about a 1 m (3.3 ft) radius, and the ground was steaming", they then decided to use them as heat sources for the night. One died."
"TIL one of the moons of Mars (Phobos) orbits Mars much faster than Mars rotates, and completes an orbit in just 7 hours and 39 minutes. From the surface of Mars it appears to rise in the west, move across the sky in 4 hours and 15 minutes, and set in the east, twice each Martian day."
"TIL that nearly all mammals, from mice to giraffes, have exactly 7 cervical vertebrae in their necks; the only exceptions are sloths and manatees."
"TIL about a Brazilian Con artist called Carlos Kaiser, who had a decade long career as a Football player, and managed to sign for multiple teams, without player even one regular game. The one time he almost had to play, he started a fight during, to get a Red Card, avoiding to actually play."
"TIL: According to Guinness World Records, PATH, a mostly underground pedestrian walkway network in downtown Toronto, is the largest underground shopping complex in the world. PATH spans more than 30 kilometres of restaurants, shopping, services and entertainment."
"TIL that consumption of the Australian aquatic fern called Nardoo can cause you to starve if improperly prepared. The plant contains vast quantities of an enzyme that obliterates thiamine (vitamin B1), making your body unable to unlock energy from food, even if eating a full nutritious diet."
"TIL of a plane who made a forced landing on a Greenland ice cap in Nov. 1942. In attempting their rescue, 6 more planes either also stranded or crashed and it would take the survivors 5 and a half months of sheltering on the glacier until they were all rescued."
"TIL about Narbacular Drop, a puzzle game made by students at DigiPen University of Technology, which emphasized the usage of portals to solve puzzles; the entire team was later hired by Valve Software and would go on to make Portal"
"TIL Pope John Paul II forgave his attempted assassin Mehmet Ali Ağca who shot him four times in 1981. At the Pope's request, the Italian President pardoned Ağca of the crime and he was deported back to Turkey. Ağca requested to meet Pope Francis in 2014 but Francis chose to decline."
"TIL that a politician from the United Kingdom, John Bell, believed that he was a bird, stating that he could fly much better than a bird, because he kept his shoulders oiled. Despite his state of mind, he remained a Member of Parliament until his death in 1851."
"TIL: Prior to the D-Day landings, men were covertly sent ashore from submarines to collect samples of the sand to see whether it could support the weight of the tanks, trucks and other vehicles."
"TIL it took around 3 billion years for the very first single-celled organisms to eventually evolve into basic animal life forms. For comparison, dinosaurs were around for about 165 million years, modern humans have been around for 300,000 years."
"TIL the US Navy has a 'Fleet Admiral' rank which only four people have ever achieved. It includes the unique benefit of active duty pay for life."
"TIL in 1981 Chicago mayor Jane Byrne moved into the crime ridden Cabrini–Green public housing project in an attempt to improve its reputation. Despite having bodyguards she left just a few weeks later, furthering the public perception of Cabrini–Green as the "worst of the worst" in the city."
"TIL Throughout much of the 20th century, a majority of states once required a blood test (mostly for STIs) before issuing a couple a marriage license."
"TIL Some flying insects have biologic versions of gyroscopes. The haltere is a small bell like structure that vibrates and can account for changes in rotation using the Coriolis effect, so the insect knows its position and can make corrections."
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There will be a show tonight
On trampoline.
The Hendersons will all be there.
Late of Pablo Fanque's Fair.
What a scene!