› added 3 years ago

745

TIL despite having spines, echidnas are more closely related to platypuses than hedgehogs or porcupines. They also lay eggs.

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WkdN8 TIL that "thagomizer" is the unofficial name of the spike arrangement on the tails of stegasaurid dinosaurs in reference to a The Far Side cartoon. While unofficial, it is still used to describe the feature at the Smithsonian Institute, the Dinosaur Nat'l Monument, and in other literature.
l8m7 TIL that Jacob Vouza, a native of Guadalcanal and Allied scout, after being tortured and bayoneted multiple times, freed himself by chewing through his ropes and warned the Marines of an impending Japanese attack.
Yp6Lv TIL that it took Noah Webster a total of 28 years to complete his dictionary
GPkE TIL that police can refuse to interview job applicants if they score too high on an intelligence test
p8myG TIL for the film Speed, Joss Whedon was brought in a week before shooting began, wrote "98.9% of the dialogue", added major plot points, and is credited with creating the "Pop quiz, hotshot" line.