› added 12 years ago

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TIL: There is a species of jellyfish that is potentially immortal.

Read more news.nationalgeographic.com

via reddit.com

b6e64 TIL: Götz von Berlichingen was a German mercenary/"Robin Hood". He lost his right arm in 1504 and had a blacksmith make an iron hand with movable fingers to hold a sword could hold a pen. In 1799, Goethe wrote a biography and included the first use of "kiss my a**". (a plaque commemorates this).
8e0gK TIL that rattlesnakes can form "friendships", and being in the presence of their friend reduces their stress.
x6ln1 TIL Stan Lee made the X-Men mutants because he didn't want to come up with a reason for their super powers, instead they were just born with them. Additionally the 1963 comic was initially a flop until the 1975 reboot by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum.
XElOP TIL that in 2006, Mattel's "Furryville" toyline drew ire from real life nurses for naming their duck nurse character "Nurse Quacktitioner", alleging a "medical quack". Despite Mattel pointing out that "ducks quack", the toy was eventually pulled.
dlMZ TIL rogue crime-lab scientist Annie Dookhan compromised as many as 40,000 cases with her mishandling of evidence and perjurious testimony; she received a 3-5 year jail sentence.