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kOd14 TIL when being eaten or harmed, grass will release a chemical distress signal. This attracts parasitic wasps to lay eggs in the insect eating the grass. This chemical is actually what makes up the 'freshly cut grass smell' (Updated post, I messed up the last one)
mxGvE TIL that Marlon Brando tried to purchase the rights to a movie about the Iran-Contra scandal using a former CIA connection. The CIA was able to derail this by creating a front company to outbid Brando for the rights. The man they put in charge of this operation was none other than Col. Oliver North
1748 TIL that in order to capture footage of tigers hunting in the wild, instead of using a human camera crew, the BBC gave cameras to a team of elephants and trained them to operate the film equipment.
QJvW6 TIL there was an estimated 4884 excess suicides in 2009 compared with the number expected based on previous trends (2000-07). Believed to be due to the 2008 economic crisis
pnxb TIL that in 1937 a bomb was dropped on Shanghai by a Chinese plane in an attempt to lighten its load while being pursued by Japanese planes. The bomb hit two department stores, killing 612 people and injuring another 482