› added 10 months ago

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TIL that there is a fungus that turns ants into 'zombies'! Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, also known as the 'zombie fungus', infects ants and controls their behavior, causing them to climb to high locations and bite onto a leaf before producing spores that can spread the fungus.

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GV84 TIL A robbery suspect fled into a darkened movie theater to escape pursuing police. He became so engrossed in the movie playing on screen, Robocop, that he failed to notice that police had evacuated all other patrons from the theater. When the lights came on he was taken into custody.
QNDvM TIL about the 1936 Literary Digest Presidential Poll which was so wrong it destroyed the magazine's credibility. It projected Republican Alf Landon to defeat Incumbent Franklin Roosevelt easily. Roosevelt ended up winning 48 states and the popular vote by 24 percentage points
Do9e TIL Ocean thermal energy conversion, a technology invented at the end 19th century, has the potential to satisfy twice the global electricity demand without affecting the temperature of the ocean or the world’s environment.
m1JwY TIL some 8th century Anglo-Saxon coins contained the words "Muhammed is the Messenger of Allah" written in Arabic, alongside the name of the king in English. This was apparently a result of imitating the aesthetics of Caliphate coins, without understanding the meaning.
XEPMr TIL "Soap opera rapid aging syndrome" refers to the practice of soap operas to age child characters faster than the general timeline of the shows, sometimes becoming adults in a few years after their birth.