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French paratroopers once used “Bazooka Vespas” in combat

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oBpdr TIL about UG99, a highly contagious wheat stem rust that can confer a 100% devastation rate to affected crops. It's essentially the Ebola of wheat and efforts are being made to stop it before we reach Wheatmaggedon
0d8gp TIL that the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León was killed after being struck by an arrow poisoned with manchineel sap. A present-day Spanish name is manzanilla de la muerte, "little apple of death". This refers to the fact that manchineel is one of the most toxic trees in the world.
b9kDE TIL A volcano eruption in Martinique in 1902 eradicated a city of 30.000. Of the 3 survivors, one was a man who ended up in jail after a brawl the night before. His underground solitary cell was the safest building in the city
W0DA TIL in 1996, snooker player Ronnie O'Sullivan was brought to a disciplinary hearing for saying he played better with his bad hand than his opponent did with his good hand. Using his bad hand, he won 3 straight games against a world-ranked player. The charges were dropped.
DQD9p TIL the wife of John Quincy Adams traveled the dangerous trip across war-torn Europe in 1815 to reunite with John in the UK. When she died in 1852, congress adjourned for the funeral, the first time for a woman.