Recent comments in /f/todayilearned

draw2discard2 t1_j9igmaz wrote

Reply to TIL - That avocado seeds are so large because they depended on extinct megafauna to eat and disperse them. by byronhadleigh

This is backwards. A giant sloth or other large animal is equally good at spreading large or small seeds. What would make actual sense is that perhaps there is an advantage to having a large seed (for instance, more energy stored inside) but size is limited by the ability of animals to disperse the seeds (for instance, both a mouse and giant sloth can move raspberry seeds but only the sloth can move the avocado). So, the sloth may have allowed the evolution of a larger seed but it didn't do anything to make a larger seed to be favored in natural selection.

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blerg1234 t1_j9idy1u wrote

Reply to TIL - English physician William Harvey was a prominent skeptic regarding allegations of witchcraft. He was one of the examiners of four women from Lancashire accused of witchcraft in 1634, and as a consequence of his report, all of them were acquitted. by wendalltwolf

His trick was that he had very accurate scales, so when he weighed the accused against a duck, he could actually tell which ones were heavier, and which ones were witches.

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Grandpixbear1 t1_j9idpt9 wrote

Reply to TIL to finish writing The Hunchback of Notre Dame within an impossible deadline of 6 months, Victor Hugo locked his clothes away, making him unable to go outside and procrastinate which forced him to do anything but finish writing his book. by Old_Sport7920

This book sparked interest in Notre Dame cathedral (which was in a state of disrepair and sleezy) and eventually a major renovation started which made it into the world-renowned and beloved cathedral it was before the 🔥 fire.

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Old_Sport7920 OP t1_j9idind wrote

Reply to TIL to finish writing The Hunchback of Notre Dame within an impossible deadline of 6 months, Victor Hugo locked his clothes away, making him unable to go outside and procrastinate which forced him to do anything but finish writing his book. by Old_Sport7920

on hindsight, i think i titled this pretty badly lol, i would edit it to be “forced him to finish writing the book” instead of “forced him to do anything but finish writing the book”, sorry. unfortunately reddit doesnt allow us to change the title

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freeeYou OP t1_j9ibtf5 wrote

Reply to comment by IDoPokeSmot in TIL an indigenous empire called the Purépechas (Tarascan Empire) denied an alliance request from their rivals, the Aztecs, when Hernan Cortez first arrived in present-day Mexico City. by freeeYou

I hope ur gma is resting well. Look up La Malinche. She was a huge contributing factor to his conquest schematics.

It’s crazy to think what the world would look like if they did form the alliance. Would Latin American countries be speaking Portuguese? French? English?

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