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TIL that When written down, the word ‘almost’ is ALMOST the longest word in the English language to have all of its letters in alphabetical order. It comes second to the proper noun Aegilops (which many do not consider as the winner because it is a proper noun).

Qpda TIL “Gringo” did not originate in Mexico to describe Americans, but in Spain in the 1700’s to describe foreigners whose speech was incomprehensible. Gringo likely came from the word “griego” meaning Greek, which in Spanish was used in the same way as English, “it’s Greek to me” (hablar in griego).
5YVJr Characterized by their large green bodies and beak-like teeth, bumphead parrotfish can be found near the coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific. These large corallivores use their mighty teeth to grind up the hard exterior of coral in search of the small creatures living inside. If you've ever visited a beach in these regions, you've probably relaxed on the sandy remnants of this coral-based diet. In other words, that beach is full of crap! National Geographic grantee Mikayla Wujec fills us in in this episode of Today I Learned.
neW19 TIL bananas are curved because they grow towards the sun
QWK9 TIL in WWII a woman-only Soviet bomber regiment were nicknamed the “Night Witches” by German soldiers. For a successful bombing run, the Witches would cut the engine of their archaic and noisy aircraft. Gliding in, they would release their bombs before the enemy even knew they were there.
OG48g TIL that 'Rocky' (1976) was inspired by the true story of Chuck Wepner, a local boxer from New Jersey who was set up for a dream fight with Muhammad Ali. Wepner quit his job to train full time, and against all odds, lasted 15 rounds with the champ. Stallone was in the audience.