› added 11 years ago

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TIL llamas are often kept with sheep because when an animal attacks the flock the llamas will attack viciously even to death

QJgQ9 TIL that "twitchers" are committed bird-watchers who travel long distances to see new species. They have their own jargon, including "nemesis" for a bird that has eluded them despite multiple attempts to see it, and "plastic" for a bird that escaped from captivity rather than being genuinely wild.
eppKk TIL in 1972 a traveling circus set up in the village of Uquakwa, IL. Overnight, their elephant was tethered to a tree in the park. Lightning struck and killed the elephant. The panicked Circus owners packed up all of their gear, and scurried out of town, leaving the 6500 lb dead Pachyderm behind.
gMaZW TIL That when Christopher Reeve (the man who played Superman) was about to receive the surgery to reattach his skull to his spine after falling off a horse, Robin Williams cheered him up by dressing as his character from Nine Months and proclaiming that Reeve will be getting a rectal exam.
VMLEG TIL that the real Johnny Appleseed did plant apples on the American frontier, but that they were mostly used for hard apple cider. Safe drinking water was scarce, and apple cider was a safer alternative to drink.
Zk7Y TIL: a 13 yr old who made a Braille printer out of Legos after discovering that millions of blind people in developing countries buy Braille devices that cost $2K and weigh 20 lbs. His prints Braille from computers to paper using raised dots instead of ink, weighs a few lbs, and costs only $350.