› added 5 years ago

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TIL that virgin queen ants leave their existing colony to form their own in a process known as nuptial flight. In preparation for the flight, males emerge from their pupa case and are "quickly converted into single-purpose sexual missiles."

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8awE4 TIL that there is a Native American tribe of ultra runners known as the Rarámuri. They can run 200 miles non-stop, and play running games that can go on for up to two days without breaks. They use the toe strike method of running instead of the traditional heel-strike.
woNao TIL that in 1990 a broken turbo in a Nissan R90CK caused it to produce over 1100hp, allowing Mark Blundell to set a still-standing Le Mans record: winning pole position with a gap of over 6 seconds from second place, which was a Porsche 962C.
xVjAw TIL that, in addition to Father Christmas, Icelanders are visited by the 13 Yule Lads (including Sausage-Swiper, Spoon-Licker, & Door-Sniffer), as well as their giant pet cat Jólakötturinn, who eats children who don't receive new clothes for Christmas.
4ka6X TIL there is a permanent settlement on Antartica other than a research base, called Villa Las Estrellas.
nWeYG TIL: The 1904 fire in Baltimore was way worse then it had to be due to no industry standard for firefighting equipment at the time.