Recent comments in /f/todayilearned

Roadkinglavared t1_j6kp21b wrote

Reply to TIL When a cow has opposite sex twins, the female twin is usually born intersex and infertile. This happens because the twins blood supplies are linked, which exposes the female to male sex hormones. by awawe

Where we live, if the female twin is born first it is assumed she can breed. If she is born second, then she is a freemartin. Another way to say it is if the heifer is bigger then the twin bull calf, chances are great she can breed. If born second they are raised like the steers for beef. Our vet said that most farmers don't test their freemartins and while the numbers state 80% chance the female born second will be a freemartin, he said not enough farmers give the female a chance so the numbers are most like no 100% correct. Sometimes you can tell the heifer is a freemartin and other times it's all in inside workings that you cant see. I remember hearing one farmer who kept his freemartin for beef and she was running with the bulls and steers. She got pregnant and he kept her as a breeding cow.

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Seahawk124 OP t1_j6kokh4 wrote

Reply to comment by Duanedoberman in Today I learned the first overseas Consulate of the United States was in Liverpool, established in 1790! by Seahawk124

>Yes, the consulate did stood on the quayside of Steers Dock and the Pool of Liverpool. The quayside is now a couple hundred yards West now. The building was decorated with a golden bald eagle, the national symbol of the United States and a reassuring sign to American sailors or travellers arriving at Liverpool docks.

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WilliamofYellow t1_j6koa96 wrote

Reply to comment by ksdkjlf in TIL that the first use of the phrase "son-of-a-bitch" in American literature was in the 1823 book "Seventy-Six" by John Neal about the American Revolutionary War. Seventy-Six was criticized at the time for its use of profanity and was noted for its use of colloquialisms. by vrphotosguy55

The OED also offers this quotation from a legal document of 1655:

>Damaris Dry..to answere Richard Carter Headborough..yt she did..reuile him..Calling him ye sonn of a Bitch, asking him also where ye Bawd his mother was.

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Cannie_Flippington t1_j6klvgc wrote

Reply to comment by TylerBradleyLegend in TIL When a cow has opposite sex twins, the female twin is usually born intersex and infertile. This happens because the twins blood supplies are linked, which exposes the female to male sex hormones. by awawe

Except with tigons and ligers! My favorite example of assumed sterility. Apparently the whole world just forgot they weren't actually sterile for 20 years.

https://www.nature.com/articles/nindia.2017.46

I can never find the article where a zoo had a tigon enclosed with an opposite sex tiger and was so surprised when they had babies.

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Responsible_Smile789 t1_j6kl8k1 wrote

Reply to TIL China is bigger than the U.S. in terms of land area. The U.S. is also bigger than Canada in terms of land area. by Mewhenthe4

“according to older versions of the CIA World Factbook (from 1982 to 1996), the U.S. was listed as the world's fourth-largest country (after Russia, Canada, and China) with a total area of 9,372,610 km2. However, in the 1997 edition, the U.S. added coastal waters to its total area (increasing it to 9,629,091 km2). And then again in 2007, the U.S. added territorial water to its total area (increasing it to 9,833,517 km2). During this time, China's total area remained unchanged. In other words, no coastal or territorial water area was added to China's total area figure.”

-From the source of the rankings(Britannica, United Nations)

So basically in the US we acknowledged China was bigger until 1997 then decided to count 100 miles of water off our entire coast to boost our stats. Hawaii too and I bet we even counted Puerto Rico to boost our stats even though we won’t allow territories to become actual states and get the benefits. Which isn’t a big deal but it is a lil lets wave our dick in the wind uncle sam type of thing.

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405134 t1_j6ki9p9 wrote

Reply to comment by Budget_Bathroom_1056 in TIL When a cow has opposite sex twins, the female twin is usually born intersex and infertile. This happens because the twins blood supplies are linked, which exposes the female to male sex hormones. by awawe

Human twins in the womb don’t share blood supply between themselves, the blood comes from the mother , and her blood enters each twin through the umbilical cord separately

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