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TIL that a sphincter muscle, similar to the one humans use to hold in gases, prevents water from entering the blowholes of marine mammals.

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gxjy TIL British gunboats were having problems being lit on fire during World War II, so they designed a special diesel engine with the cylinders in a DELTA configuration. The engine worked so well, it is still in service 70 years later, and is half the size of its competitors. But just a 5th the weight.
5YK68 TIL Russell Crowe hated the big speech scene in Gladiator where he confronts Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), unsuccessfully trying to improvise new lines and ultimately saying "It was shit. But I'm the greatest actor in the world and I can make even shit sound good."
8eAmV TIL About Billy Mitchell who pushed for air power between WWs 1 and 2. He proved air superiority by bombing captured german warships after WW1 using bombers. For his efforts he was court marshaled and resigned from the military. After his death, he was given a Congressional Medal of Honor
pdx4 TIL that Al-Qaeda has a 5-phase strategy, culminating in the collapse of the US economy due to military overextension. 4 phases are complete.
0wnAj TIL After Sir Terry Pratchetts death, Neil Gaiman had the only hard drive containing his unfinished novels crushed with a steamroller, as per the late fantasy writers request