› added 11 years ago

75

TIL that Mantis shrimp can punch their prey at up to 23 m/s, and have been known to break through aquarium glass with a single strike

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nW61b TIL that photosynthetic archaea(single-celled organisms similar in some ways to bacteria) absorb light using rhodopsin instead of chlorophyll, which is the same protein that our eyes use to see. The way they consume their food is the same way we see the world.
QxL6 TIL the Alien in “Alien” was inspired by a transparent deep sea parasite that eats other creatures from the inside out and then takes over their bodies to ride the seas in
4koNa TIL The United States spent $20.2 billion a YEAR on air conditioning in Iraq and Afghanistan.
rNWV0 TIL the longest recorded sniper kill was in June 2017, by an unnamed Canadian sniper with a 3,540 m (3,871 yd) shot in the Iraqi Civil War, surpassing a 2009 record by over 1,000 m (1,100 yd).
Y7Jwx TIL about an energy drink sold in the 1920s that was water with (flavorless) Radium, a highly radioactive element. Thousands like Eben Byer suffered “Radium Jaw” (gore warning)