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TIL Russia has a monument dedicated to lab rats

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via reddit.com

YpgK7 TIL: Aleksandr Karelin, the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of all time, who won 3 Olympic golds, 12 European Championships and 9 World Championships. His PhD was devoted to countermeasures against suplex throws. He suffered 2 losses, one of which was against a Wyomingite farmer who wrestled cows.
aBm0 TIL young George R. R. Martin began writing by selling monster stories for pennies to other neighborhood children, dramatic readings included
lR47 TIL Professor Patrick Michaud performed an experiment in 1994 showing strawberry Pop-Tarts could produce foot high flames when left in a toaster too long, triggering lawsuits. Pop-Tarts now carry a warning: “Due to possible risk of fire, never leave your toasting appliance or microwave unattended.”
kOQEB TIL Raccoons in the wild only have a lifespan of two to three years. This is typically due to being hit by cars, diseases, and hunting. However, in captivity they can live up to 20 years.
GAJw7 TIL that birds control the shape of their wings during flight using hook-shaped microstructures in their feathers to prevent them spreading too far apart. The detachment of the hooks is noisy, so they are missing from silent fliers such as barn owls.