› added 11 years ago

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TIL that the koala population of Australia is at serious risk of extinction, in part due to over half the population being infected with chlamydia

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loemK TIL when the Grand Canyon divided the local squirrel population, they evolved into two different species. Despite being separated only by the Colorado River and remaining extremely similar in appearance, they are now so genetically incompatible that they can no longer interbreed.
BLyW TIL sniper bullets can travel so far that the rotation of the Earth will move the target, and shooters have to adjust their aim accordingly.
rRaQ0 TIL that Sean Bean and Peter Dinklage did not have to audition for their roles on Game of Thrones. They were specifically sought after to play Ned Stark and Tyrion Lannister respectively
9YVBG TIL: Lise Meitner, an Austrian-born physicist, discovered that atomic nuclei can be split in half. She and her nephew explained and named nuclear fission in 1939, but the recognition went to Otto Hahn for this discovery. He was granted a Nobel Prize in 1944 in Chemistry.
9YkO7 TIL that when Yuri Gagarin was on the bus to the launch pad, he asked the driver to stop so he could pee. It is now tradition for all astronauts leaving from Russia to unzip their suits and pee on the rear right tire of their bus.