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TIL the scientific name of the European ground squirrel is Spermophilus - "Seed Lover"

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KOvj9 TIL about the ghost plant. Unlike most plants, it is white and does not contain chlorophyll. Instead of generating energy from sunlight, it is parasitic.Its hosts are certain fungi that are mycorrhizal with trees, meaning it ultimately gets its energy from photosynthetic trees.
wL4vJ TIL: Mistaken for an April Fool's Day joke when declassified in 2004 was a British military program for a nuclear weapon codenamed Brown Bunny. (It was renamed Blue Bunny --then Blue Peacock.) To keep the electronics warm if winter-deployed, a proposal called for using body heat from live chickens.
69XZm TIL of Dr. Kathy Sullivan. Sullivan was the first woman to perform a spacewalk in 1984 and the first woman to descend to Challanger Deep, the deepest part of the Ocean, in 2020.
a8jxo TIL that using biodegradable plastic bags doesn't mean they can be discarded anywhere. They require specific conditions to decompose properly. Incorrect methods include throwing them in regular trash or leaving them out in nature.
QNbXa TIL that beer can become lightstruck a.k.a. "skunked" by being put in direct sunlight for less than ten seconds