TIL that 19 species of fern were named after Lady Gaga because they bear a distinct DNA sequence spelling GAGA and for "her [Lady Gaga's] fervent defense of equality and individual expression" https://ift.tt/D8OM0TI

TIL that Stephen Hawking hosted a party in 2009. He kept the event secret and publicized it afterwards, inviting future time travelers to the party. No one showed up, showing that travelling back in time is impossible. https://ift.tt/cH9u7Io

TIL: There is something called 'The Glitter Conspiracy'. One of the largest producers of glitter doens't want to tell what tge glitter is used for. Theories range from the use in explosives to boats https://ift.tt/0KcWkxq

TIL: Sperms were thought to move by wiggling their tails side-to-side, like eels, for 350 years. But research shows that they roll as they move forward like a spinning top. https://ift.tt/COTbai6

TIL Only 4% off all mamals on earth are wild animals. 96% of mamals are livestock and humans. https://ift.tt/Kjia7pS

TIL In the 19th Century, women cyclists were warned they might get "bicycle face" with bulging eyes and jutting chins. https://ift.tt/TYqHEaD

TIL There is a US electric freight railroad in Mason City, Iowa. It operates Baldwin-Westinghouse Steeplecab electric locomotives built in the 1920s, over 100 years ago https://ift.tt/zcsM3Ap

TIL it took two years for the CEO of ARM China to be fired. Allen Wu was dismissed by the company two years ago, but because he held the company's seal stamp, or Chop, the dismissal wasn't considered official until the Shenzhen government signed off on a new company chop being made. https://ift.tt/QekLzWR

TIL that Ticketmaster was caught recruiting resellers to scalp its own tickets. https://ift.tt/CSbRw2z

TIL after surviving a suicide attempt, the rapper Vanilla Ice took up jet-skiing and reached a world ranking of 6. https://ift.tt/bj3gpwL

TIL Hippopotamus meat is considered a delicacy in Africa, and has a sweet taste. https://ift.tt/GMQcZ6N

TIL Challenger Deep, the deepest-known point on Earth was accidentally discovered on history's first major scientific expedition devoted to oceanography in 1875. https://ift.tt/tOL82uq

TIL that the Secret Language of Fans was more a marketing ploy to sell fans, then an actual language of signals that women used and men understood. https://ift.tt/Cn3OAWt

TIL that the day of the year with the least number of births is Christmas Day. The day of the year with the most number of births is September 26th, because December 25th is also the day with the most conceptions. https://ift.tt/5pNw6xo

TIL that Ben & Jerry's employees are entitled to 3 free pints of ice cream every day https://ift.tt/h2WPHl1

TIL there are public fountains in Paris that literally flow with free, clean sparkling water! Residents fill up bottles to take home instead of buying bottled water in stores https://ift.tt/WXQyL0a

TIL the Black Death was partially caused by a mass execution of cats due to supposed association with the Devil, allowing rats and their fleas to rapidly spread. https://ift.tt/BrVd9Yf

TIL that a man accidentally got shot in the head by a particle accelerator back in 1978 and is still alive https://ift.tt/5daJmzw

TIL that the distinct illustration style of 'The Adventures of Tintin' called 'Ligne claire', was created by the Belgian cartoonist Hergé. It uses clear strong lines, no hatching, little contrast, and strong colors with realistic background. It influenced many other artists, f. ex. Chris Ware, https://ift.tt/fuzG5Oh

TIL foreign investors estimated the Confederacy had a 42% chance of winning the Civil War, just before the Battle of Gettysburg https://ift.tt/xlBA2L8

TIL in 1976 , LA Dodgers catcher Steve Yeager was impailed in the throat by San Diego Padre's Bill Russell's broken bat, resulting the the MLB issuing a throat guard rule for catchers. https://ift.tt/WdON2AZ