› added 4 months ago

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TIL about exploding ants (Colobopsis explodens) who sacrifice themselves to save their colony

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xV0n5 TIL: Mushrooms are the only vegetarian food that can make vitamin D. They contain a “pro-vitamin,” or precursor, called ergosterol that is converted into vitamin D when exposed to the sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation—similar to how your skin synthesizes the vitamin in response to sun exposure.
wL7yP TIL In 2015 Smashmouth performed at an event where they were pelted with slices of bread from free loaves being handed out by vendors. Their lead singer went on a 3+ minute, profanity-laced rant about how the event was supposed to be family friendly.
OoYwX TIL road damage mostly results from trucks and buses. The damage a vehicle causes is proportional to the axle load raised to the fourth power, so doubling the weight an axle carries actually causes 16 times as much damage.
ag4M TIL the man who invented the first beer tap also invented the modern toilet
aaXZ TIL when Shaka Zulu’s mother died in 1827, over 7,000 people were executed for being “insufficiently grief-stricken”. Cows were also slaughtered so that young calves would “know what it feels like to lose a mother.”