› added 11 years ago

535

TIL that older termites are used as suicide bombers.

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via reddit.com

wono8 TIL that New York City has a sheriff, and his name is Anthony Miranda
58gP TIL that Pando, an 80,000 year old quaking aspen forest made of a single organism, is dying from drought, insects, and disease.
ADnEo TIL of the doomed 1936 Eiger north face expedition. One climber died during a training climb and half the expedition left. Of the four climbers who remained, two fell during an avalanche, climbing rope wrapped around the neck of another, and the last froze to death inches from his rescuers.
xVAy5 TIL: John Major, British Prime Minister (1990-1997), left school at 15 and only completed his O-levels years later by correspondence; this would be the equivalent of US president having only a GED.
wLJW6 TIL of Vasilisa Kozhina, a Russian woman who lead a guerilla regiment of women and teenagers to slaughter "hundreds of the French" in the Patriotic War of 1812. She has two streets, a village and a train station named after her, plus a stamp and a mention in War and Peace.