› added 7 years ago

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TIL that, although the ancient Greeks had a myth in which Prometheus is tied to a rock and his liver is eaten every day by an eagle, we did NOT actually learn about "liver regeneration" (the liver's remarkable ability to regenerate itself) until the 19th century.

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YOeG TIL, a group of coconut crabs is called a “nightmare,” with leg spans reaching up to three feet, and are known to climb trees on their native islands in the Pacific and Indian oceans; they’ve also been observed devouring chickens and kittens.
D1wvg TIL that British politician John Stonehouse faked his death in November 1974, leaving a pile of clothes on a beach in Miami. It was presumed he had gone swimming and drowned. But Stonehouse was actually en route to Australia to set up a new life with his mistress and secretary, Sheila Buckley.
v174K TIL about Mauro Prosperi who was lost in the Sahara. To avoid agonizing death from starvation and to save his wife from legal red tape, he slashed his wrists with a knife. However, due to his severe dehydration, his blood had clotted around the cuts. He reached a nomad tribe a few days later.
dQE TIL that there is an orchid that looks like a monkey’s face. Also called the Dracula Orchid (Dracula simia).
M7mo7 TIL that the world's oldest code of law, the Code of Ur-Nammu, contains the rule "if a man knocks out the eye of another man, he shall weigh out half a mina of silver." It generally suggests fines rather than physical punishment.