› added 6 years ago

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TIL: Binghamton University researchers have been working on a self-healing concrete that uses a specific type of fungi as a healing agent. When the fungus is mixed with concrete, it lies dormant until cracks appear, when spores germinate, grow and precipitate calcium carbonate to heal the cracks.

Read more binghamton.edu

via reddit.com

AoRa TIL Many European zoologists believed that birds hibernated under the sea or flew to the moon in winter until 1822, when a stork was found in Germany with an arrow from Central Africa embedded in its neck, providing the first clear evidence of migration.
Z8bnQ TIL that when choosing the name for a Chinese baby, families often follow a "generation name" to pick one of the characters in the name. Such poem is written in advance, and can predetermine the names of thirty-two or more generations, such that after hundreds of years the names spell out the poem.
NXbx8 TIL Walmart pulled a "pregnant" Midge doll, who came with baby Nikki inside her magnetic womb and was marketed as Barbie's best friend, after complaints from customers which included: She did not (initially) come with a wedding ring, she promoted teen pregnancy, and was packaged without husband Alan
X0618 TIL that a 71 year old woman from Sri Lanka named Akila Thirunayaki won 2 gold medals by running barefoot against her opponents in the field at the 2023 Asia Masters Athletics Championships.
LLjV TIL that hares and rabbits are completely different species. Rabbits are smaller and can be pleasant pets, whereas hares are much larger and are far too skittish to be kept as a pet, even if kept from day 1- hence the word ‘harebrained’.