› added 4 years ago

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TIL that during peak growing season for the Midwest US corn belt, the region undergoes more photosynthesis activity than anywhere else on the planet-- with levels up to 40% greater than observed in the Amazon.

Read more jpl.nasa.gov

via reddit.com

WkX5d TIL: Tobacco use in Indonesia is almost entirely determined by gender: 76% of men smoke, while only 3.6% of women smoke.
wLAp8 TIL that, if extra-terrestrial life is found in our Solar System, it means the Great Filter (whatever keeps other life in the Cosmos from contacting us) is in Humanity's future, not its past. Basically, if we find life on Mars or Europa, we can be certain that our kind will never travel the stars.
OGQRg TIL: The King Cobra is not actually a Cobra and its name comes from it's propensity to eat other snakes, including Cobra
R7BY6 TIL the US Gemini space capsule had to be redesigned because 14 of the 16 astronauts didn't fit in it. The original design relied so heavily on input from Mercury astronaut 'Gus' Grissom, who was 5' 6", that it was nicknamed the "Gusmobile."
8awMV TIL that a coyote pack's yipping affects the size of female coyotes' litters. If there aren't enough coyotes yipping in response when yipping occurs, females will produce larger litters to promote reproductive competition. This is why hunting coyotes isn't effective population control.