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433

TIL a female swan is called a Pen

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yQjAM TIL that there have been several cases of whale carcasses bursting due to a buildup of gas in the decomposition process. In Nov 1970, when a dead whale was about to burst, a team blew it up using dynamite in an attempt to dispose of it. The explosion threw whale flesh over 800 feet (240 M) away!
9wOLB TIL New Zealand has a cat killing contest, with price money.
WkJkA TIL personal hygiene by Yugioh players got so bad, they had to make an official rule in the rule book banning wearing dirty clothes as a strategy to distract the opponent (in tournament play).
b6kmE TIL that in Yukon, Canada, there is a "desert" between mountains and forests. Despite the name, scientifically is not a desert in the traditional sense, are dunes created by glaciers 24,000 years ago, but locals nickname the place as "the world smallest desert".
PJdw TIL the primitive immune system of a horseshoe crab makes them useful to humans. Every drug certified by the FDA must be tested using an extract from their blood cells. Their blood is worth ~$15,000 a quart. A horseshoe crab can be bled, returned to the ocean, and after time, can give blood again.