› added 10 years ago

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TIL that to escape a rip current, swim sideways, parallel to the beach. This will get you out of the narrow outward current, so you can swim back in with the waves helping you along.

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oBEkE TIL Vikings never wore horned helmets, it is a myth that started in the 1870s. In reality, their helmets are iron with an eye guard.
0w7jN TIL the juvenile form of the yellow boxfish is dazzling bright yellow, but this color fades away in adulthood. It is found near ocean reefs. When attacked, this fish releases a neurotoxin from its skin that can be lethal to predators. The fish's box shape inspired Mercedes-Benz's Bionic concept car.
dvx8 TIL chickens who watched a video of another chicken eating from a particular food dish were more likely to later choose to eat out of that same dish themselves
4kylR TIL In Japan, the Johatsu, meaning "evaporated people", choose to abandon their current lives - due to family strain, work pressure or any other reason. So-called 'night moving' companies help them disappear without a trace and start a new life somewhere else.
wLE9E TIL: During the Thirty Years' War, Count Von Tilly of the imperial army declared that if anyone in Rothenburg ob der Tauber could drink a tank of wine (3.25 liters) in one go, he would spare the town and move on. The mayor of the town obliged, prompting the army to leave.