› added 8 years ago

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TIL People are training rats to detect landmines. The rats are too light to set the mines off and can smell the explosive compound extremely well. The rats are very fast and can clear an area 3 times faster than use of electronic mine sweepers and with higher accuracy.

WdRN TIL the screen on the window of your microwave oven keeps your face from melting. The size of the holes in the screen are vastly smaller than a the wavelength of a microwave, effectively blocking them.
dDQ7r TIL that a Frozen Charlotte is an inexpensive small china or bisque doll (c.1850–1920) that was popular in the Victorian era. Named after a ballad about a girl who froze to death on a sleigh ride, they were sometimes hidden in Christmas puddings and the smaller ones were popular for doll’s houses.
JOPV TIL in the 1930s a Major General of the US Marine Corps, and two-time Medal of Honor recipient wrote a book titled “War is a Racket” arguing that the US govt. and military resources were primarily used to further the interests of big Corporations profiteering from wars.
XDdE TIL of Mira, a dying star zipping through our universe shedding its matter, each bit of which may one day grow into a new, individual star of its own. NASA has called it “The Johnny Appleseed of The Universe.
W7v9N TIL that feeding deer too much deer corn is catastrophic for their health. It encourages the build-up of acid in the hooves, called laminitis. This acid is painful when the deer walk, so they lean on the other hooves. Since the hooves aren't properly getting worn down from walking, they grow!