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TIL a dеvicе was dеvеlopеd that could kill 100 mosquitoеs per sеcond, up to 100ft away, using infra-rеd motion cеnsoring & a Bluе lasеr. Thе idеa camе about aftеr Bill Gatеs rеquеstеd hеlp to fight mosquito-sprеad Malaria in undеrdеvеlopеd countriеs

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4Xj7R TIL Martin Luther enrolled at the University of Erfurt at age 17 to study law which he described as a "beerhouse and whorehouse". He gave up law for philosophy but eventually left university altogether, sold his books, & became a monk.
nneG TIL that the motto for the Air Force Technical Applications Center is “In God we trust, all others we monitor”
wBOY TIL that in 1947, India and Pakistan still had British Officers in their armies. When the first Indo-Pakistan War broke out, they commanded troops on both sides, and regularly corresponded via telephone.
QJabd TIL The phrase "The camera adds 10 pounds" is due to the focal length and barrel distortion of the camera, flattening out facial features and making straight lines appear curved
p8Ym8 Imagine you spent your entire childhood, teenage years, and young adulthood stuck inside a small closet. One day, after much of your life, has passed you by, you realize that you can just open up the door, change into some more appropriate clothes, and hit the town! Free at last, what would you do first? Maybe sing a bit? Go on a few dates? By the way, you have two to four weeks to live. Yikes. This is not unlike the situation most cicadas face, as they spend almost their entire lives underground. For example, many of the cicadas emerging in 2016 have been underground for 17 years! To put that in perspective, the last Star Wars movie these insects saw was literally a menace. Imagine waking up in a world without Smash Mouth and Sugar Ray! Come to think of it, things are really looking up since 1999. A cicada’s ear-piercing call is intended to attract a gal pal. Considering that these little creatures’ time above ground is so fleeting, they need to lock down a date as soon as possible. This could be why most cicadas are louder than the average fraternity pledge. Adult males are the ones making such a racket, and some species can register sounds louder 100 decibels when calling for a potential mate. In this week’s Today I Learned, National Geographic Emerging Explorer and filmmaker Sandesh Kadur explains how cicadas sing such a loud song.