› added 11 months ago

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Today I learned that clay has memory. If warped or reshaped, it will return to previous shapes while being fired. I learned this the hard way.

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KOoVQ TIL that there are orchids whose flowers look like female bees. When males try to mate with them, they transfer pollen. The Ophrys Apifera species mimics a bee species that went extinct long ago. So, the only memory of the bee is a painting by a dying flower.
x6pdw TIL in World War I, German and French soldiers would sometimes display "live and let live" behavior. Sometimes soldiers would refuse to target the other side and at other times they would fire weapons ceremoniously and with no intent to harm the enemy
OGlOY TIL After becoming deaf, Beethoven found that by connecting a metal rod to a piano and biting it, he could sense the instruments vibrations through his jawbone, enabling him to 'hear' his music
MeJLa TIL croissant is actually from Austria and was created as a celebration of viennese bakers who screwed ottomans' siege in the 17th century, and that's why it's crescent moon-shaped
0dRrA TIL about France's Camargue bullfighting, where the object is to not kill the bull, but to remove objects attached to their horns for a cash prize. (More details in comments)