› added 5 years ago

755

TIL that there's a spider in Malaysia scientifically named after Bowie, the "Heteropoda davidbowie".

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eK9b TIL that in 1875 a swarm of locusts 1800 miles long and 110 miles wide swarmed through the western U.S., causing $200M in crop damage. At 12.5 trillion insects, it was the largest concentration of animals ever seen. Less than 30 years later the species had vanished, and was declared extinct in 1902.
aw40M TIL scientists have created a microparticle filled with Oxygen that can be injected into the bloodstream, enabling users to stay alive without breathing.
jbgE TIL: Vasili Arkhipov, a senior officer on a Soviet submarine, refused to launch a nuclear torpedo in October 1962 perhaps preventing WWIII
gpBX TIL: A caterpillar basically turns into a soupy liquid while in the pupa state before it rearranges itself and turns into a butterfly. The butterfly also retain some of its memories of things learnt as a caterpillar.
x60mo TIL: For All Moonkind is a nonprofit working with the UN to preserve human heritage in space to protect damage to historical sites by tourists or errant explorers. It consists of Space Lawyers, policymakers, and space archeologists. It receives bipartisan support in the US.