› added 11 years ago

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TIL there is a spider that can live at elevations >20 000 ft. It relies on bugs being blown to those heights by the wind for food.

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N75lP TIL that Shiro Ishii, a Japanese general who oversaw Unit 731 and thousands of horrific war crimes during WWII, was given immunity in exchange for human experimentation data. He also may have gone on to do bio-weapons research at Fort Detrick located in Frederick, Maryland.
Me41K TIL that same-sex sexual activity is punishable by death in Iran, but Iranians can get a state-sponsored sex change operation to avoid punishment. Iran performs more sex reassignment surgeries than any other country in the world after Thailand.
4XVxJ TIL a woman has Chimerism: she's a fraternal twin who fused together with her sibling in the womb. Now she has 2 different immune systems and 2 different bloodstreams. Her immune system's constantly fighting off her twin sister’s cells, as it recognizes them as foreign, causing autoimmune issues.
7r4lx TIL In spite of the US Constitution's "no religious test" clause, eight states have language in their constitutions either requiring state officeholders to have particular religious beliefs or specifically protecting those who do. The language condoning religious tests is allegedly unenforceable.
1VE4 TIL John Kellog published books condemning masturbation and suggested it be treated by sewing foreskin shut with silver wire and burning the clitoris with carbolic acid. He believed meat consumption lead to masturbation and urged people to eat more cereals - which led to the nvention of Corn Flakes