› added 3 months ago

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TIL That the eyesight of peacock mantis shrimp is far superior to humans. They have 12 to 16 types of photoreceptors (we have 3), have trinocular vision, can detect circular and linear light polarization, have a much higher flicker fusion rate and have specialized mid-band regions in their eyes.

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xVKjD TIL the greenland shark has the longest known lifespan of all vertebrate species (300–500 years). The species reaches sexual maturity at 150 years of age. Some of the sharks sampled by researchers had been alive for nearly 400 years and were estimated to be born between 1504 and 1744.
4XevR TIL Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) was challenged to a duel against James Laird. Clemens' marksmanship was so dreadful that his friend, Steve Gillis, shot off the head of a small bird before Laird arrived and told him that Clemens had shot it down. Thus, Laird retreated in fear and canceled the match.
wLWj6 TIL the word "moxie," as in "wow, you got moxie!!" comes from the name of a soda that was patented around 1876 as a supposed "nerve medicine" called "Moxie Nerve Food"
kJPL1 TIL that in October of 2008, Porsche inflicted the “mother of all short squeezes” on Volkswagen (VW) by announcing how much stock it had “after it became clear that there are by far more short positions in the market than expected".
8Dl4 TIL Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame are not given out as an honor; rather, they have to be applied for, purchased for $30,000, and come with prerequisites.