› added 11 years ago

110

TIL that horseshoe crab blood coagulates instantly when encountering one part per trillion of E Coli or Salmonella, and is used medically for detecting those. It also happens to be blue when oxygenated, and clear in the veins. (Props to Unidan for starting the bunny trail)

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ANoOd TIL I learned, the 80s sitcom "Growing Pains," had a character named "Boner."
kELE TIL That there is a fish called a Barreleye that has a large transparent dome head.
J1LGV TIL about guayule (pronounced why-OO-lee). An alternative to rubber trees, it has a rubber content of 3% - 7%. It can be grown in hot, desert climates requiring a fraction of the water/fertilizer that rubber trees do. It's also weed, insect and disease resistant. It was used by the US in WW2.
lgjG TIL coordinated power shut off events like Earth Hour, Live Earth, and Planet Aid may actually increase carbon dioxide consumption as power companies struggle to cope with fluctuating electricity usage
DQ44Y TIL the last Civil War widow died in 2020.