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TIL the tail feathers of Birds of Paradise are so black that they absorb 99.95% of all light, just .01% less than the blackest human-made nanomaterial, and help make brightly-colored patches stand out more during mating dances

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jNk4a TIL of Operation Underworld. During WWII the U.S. government worked with Mafia families to secure the country's northeastern ports. They provided protection against spies and saboteurs, avoided wartime labor union strikes, and limited theft by black-marketeers of vital war supplies and equipment.
p8kJb TIL That George Carlin’s infamous rant on the seven words you can't say on TV was central to the case FCC vs. Pacifica Foundation, in which the Supreme Court determined that Carlin’s language was “indecent but not obscene.”
PY9AV TIL FOX only averaged a couple of thousand viewers per day in the UK. It was pulled off the air because it was not commercially viable.
XEjPE TIL that figure skater Kevin Reynolds performed his solo routine for the 2016 Canadian National Figure Skating Championships to the song "Tank!," which is famous as the theme song to Cowboy Bebop. Reynolds performed the routine dressed as lead Bebop character Spike.
D16RV TIL that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation was within months of completing a several mile section of expressway only to cancel the project. Bridges were built, guardrails installed, and funding dried up. They seeded the right of way to prevent erosion and allowed farm animals to graze.