› added 3 years ago

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TIL Napoleon had a healthy obsession with Australia his whole life. Had he won at Waterloo he intended to name part of Australia “Terre Napoléon” (Napoleon Land) and brought back 200+ species of Australian flora and fauna to France, making Josephiné the first person in history to breed black swans.

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ne0PB TIL The resource curse, also known as the paradox of plenty, refers to the paradox that countries with an abundance of natural resources (such as fossil fuels and certain minerals), tend to have less economic growth, less democracy, and worse development outcomes than countries with fewer resources.
grWP8 TIL the albatross almost never flaps its wings while flying across the ocean. It uses "dynamic soaring" and "slope soaring" to carve through the air, gaining velocity from wind gradients. It can cover almost 1,000km (620 miles) every day, all without a single wing-flap
D1xBr TIL toilets and drains DO NOT rotate differently in the southern and northern hemisphere
QN0BL TIL Jain scriptures dated from the 6th century B.C. propose the existence of "nigodas," tiny creatures living everywhere, in the tissues of plants and animals. It wasn't until 1646 when Athanasius Kircher wrote that milk and vinegar were "abound with an innumerable multitude of worms"
p8XGN TIL in 1993, actress Brigitte Nielsen was chosen to play She-Hulk in a live action film based on the Marvel Comics character. Publicity stills were taken for the movie but the project was canceled, never seeing the light of day.