› added 10 years ago

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TIL new research indicates the asteroid that killed the Dinosaurs did so, not primarily due to dust blocking out the sun, but by ejecting ~500 cubic miles of tiny glass spherules at near escape velocity. Upon falling to earth they incinerated nearly all surface life in a matter of minutes.

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via reddit.com

QJRKM TIL Cuvier's beaked whales hold the record for the deepest and longest dives ever documented for any mammal. During one study, the longest dive recorded was 137.5 minutes. This was also the deepest dive at 9,816 feet. The whales' rib cages can fold down to reduce air pockets and decrease buoyancy.
LgJm TIL that ‘Presque vu’ is the opposite of 'Déjà vu’, the phenomenon called tip of the tongue, a situation where someone cannot recall a familiar word or name, but with effort eventually recalls the elusive memory.
GypG TIL there is a carnivorous plant big enough to drown and digest rats.
7rl6Z TIL that a man biked from Paris through France, Spain and Morocco, eating only out-of-date food that would have been thrown away, to draw attention to the epidemic of food wastage. He continued his campaign by crossing the Atlantic on a pedal boat, getting all of his calories from expired food.
MEQ7 TIL Anderson Cooper was in the CIA