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TIL Smokejumpers are specially trained wildland firefighters who provide an initial attack response on remote wildland fires.

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Jy1m TIL that in 1981 it was proposed to breed cats that changed color when exposed to radiation and write folk songs about this trait so that future generations would have a means to be warned to stay away from contaminated areas such as nuclear waste repositories.
PY7YE TIL The majority of the United States (49 states) uses common law as its legal basis. The only outlier is Louisiana, where state laws are based on French and Spanish civil law. However federal laws, which are based on common law, are also in effect in Louisiana because of federal Supremacy Clause.
gM5D9 TIL that Father Damien, a Roman Catholic priest, selflessly helped the people with leprosy quanrantined in Kalaupapa, Kingdom of Hawai'i until his death from leprosy itself
GDxJ TIL If you were to watch every Simpsons episode back to back, it would take you 11 days 13 hours and 30 minutes
6axW TIL the knobcone pine, (Pinus attenuata), requires fire to complete its reproduction cycle. Cones remain closed for many years until a fire opens them and allows reseeding. As a result, knobcone cones may even become embedded in the growing wood as the tree matures.