› added 1 month ago

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TIL that when the first platypus specimen was sent to England in 1799, British scientists believed it was an elaborate hoax and even tried to pry its duck-like bill off, convinced someone had stitched it on.

YpjgA TIL about the Ghost Moth of New Zealand that spends 5-6 years as a grub, making a burrow in a tree in the shape of a '7', but only spends a couple of days as an actual moth, as it has no mouthparts. If it's lucky enough to find a mate, it lays 2000 eggs before starving to death.
dDQ87 TIL that the current Crown Princess of Norway was born into a poor family and had a convicted felon as a father. She also has a son from a previous relationship who is a serial sex offender. Her public approval rating as of 2024 is low with only 27% of Norwegians approving of her as future queen.
LkQwd TIL that because of the austerity measures following the war, Queen Elizabeth had to use clothing ration coupons to pay for her wedding dress. She was given hundreds of clothing coupons by brides-to-be to help her, but she had to return the coupon gifts as it was illegal to transfer them.
5YK8p TIL about "Star Jelly", a strange jelly or slime that sometime appears on earth in the morning before disappearing or dissolving. Science has not explanation of this phenomenon. (Fixed link)
b6rYE TIL about "Refrigerator Women", a trope in fiction where a female character is killed or seriously injured as a plot device to motivate the male characters, an example of which being the death of Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone) at the end of The Amazing Spider-Man 2