/f/todayilearned
TIL The "Semolina Pilchard" mentioned in "I Am the Walrus" is a reference to Scotland Yard drug squad detective Norman "Nobby" Pilcher, who led a midnight drug raid on John Lennon's London flat in October 1968. He'd targeted musicians Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Eric Clapton and Donovan prior to that.
usatoday.comSubmitted by 54_actual t3_zxmwg6
TIL that when a cat has a flat face (such as a Persian), that is actually a deformity. Breeders, however, are able to find ways of altering the cat’s genetics by choosing who they breed with. They do this because so many people gravitate to the smushed in face.
thedodo.comSubmitted by dioWjonathenL t3_y6mywx
TIL Michael DeBakey, developed over many years the technique of replacing the damaged aorta with a tube made of polyethylene terephthalate. He himself suffered aortic dissection at the age of 97 and survived for two years thanks to the technique he developed himself.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by Bobba_fat t3_ycjsn2
TIL in 2018 a Namibian musician set up a permanent solar-powered sound installation at an undisclosed location in the Namib Desert in Africa with six speakers attached to an MP3 player that play's Toto's classic tune 'Africa' on a continuous loop.
smoothradio.comSubmitted by big_macaroons t3_yih28w
TIL that due to a restaurant offering free sushi to anyone with Chinese characters for salmon in their name, hundreds of Taiwanese changed their names in a situation that was dubbed "salmon chaos". Some are now stuck with names like Salmon Dream or Dancing Salmon.
theguardian.comSubmitted by Kurma-the-Turtle t3_1102172
TIL that the Brazilian village of Candido Godoi, 7k inhabitants mostly of German descent, have the greatest birth rate of twins in the world (1/5 births). Some believe it is the result of genetic experiments of nazi medic Mengele, notorious for his obsession with creating an Aryan race.
theguardian.comSubmitted by greenland1237 t3_10gyp6f
TIL Aristarchus of Samos in the 3rd Century BCE was the first to present the model of the Sun as the center of our Solar system and also placed the other known planets in correct order of distance from the sun. He also correctly surmised that stars were other far distant suns.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by CapnFancyPants t3_10d6ib9
TIL that in 1983, Purina's Chuck Wagon dog food was given a promotional video game for the Atari 2600 called "Chase the Chuck Wagon". It could only be received by proof of purchase labels and is considered the "Holy Grail" of Atari 2600 video game collecting.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by ZootyCutie t3_zpe8tr
Submitted by eleanor61 t3_yvyscr
Submitted by Robinsonirish t3_z0apop