› added 4 years ago

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TIL That koalas refuse to eat anything but Eucalyptus, a mildly toxic plant that gives them almost no energy, which is why they sleep so much. Also, if you stripped the tree and put it on a plate, the koala would stare at it and starve because it can't recognize it as food.

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11MD TIL Rollercoaster loops are never circular, but instead, are designed with an upside down “teardrop” shape. This is because perfectly circular loops will subject riders to up to 6Gs of g-force, causing them to get injured.
oD0K TIL that vampire bats will die if they can’t find blood for two nights in a row. Luckily, generous well-fed bats will often regurgitate blood to share with others, in exchange for grooming. This has been noted by many naturalists as an example of reciprocal altruism in nature.
n7Qo TIL that the longbow was such an effective medieval weapon that the Duke of Wellington wanted to use a corps of longbowmen at the Battle of Waterloo, in 1815
ed15 TIL an investor and operator of a hedge fund has placed a $1,000,000,000 special bet (known on the stock market as a “short”) against the shady multilevel marketing company, Herbalife. If they lose money, he makes money. He plans to donate his profits to charity.
v14yj TIL that due to poaching, female African elephants are evolving tuskless; about 1/3 of females in a Mozambique Nat'l Park were born tuskless with males evolving smaller tusks. They use tusks to compete for mating, dig for water and topple trees for food which in turn creates habitats and water holes