› added 4 years ago

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TIL that dragonfly-like Meganeuropsis permiana which flew around 300 million years ago was 1.5 feet long with a wingspan of 2.5 feet. The biggest insect that has ever existed. If we cloned one today, it would probably suffocate because it needed the 30% Oxygen atmosphere present then (20% now).

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via reddit.com

naQP TIL that there was a breed of dog called the Turnspit Dog or Kitchen Dog that was bred specifically to run on a wheel that turned the spit that cooked meat over open flame. It is now extinct.
nBaG TIL that a college dropout fooled her parents into believing she was still enrolled in order to continue collecting tuition money. Then on graduation day, she called in bomb threats so her parents wouldn’t see her not graduate.
LkPY9 TIL that Researchers have found that dogs have evolved muscles around their eyes, which allow them to make expressions that particularly appeal to humans. The study says such "puppy eyes" helped domesticated dogs to bond with humans.
68LY TIL that one of the main reasons WWF founder Sir Peter Scott choose a panda as the organisations logo was to minimise printing costs (needing just black and white).
78OVx TIL in May 1945, the 12th Army Group under the command of Omar Bradley numbered 1.3 million men in 43 divisions, and is the largest group of US soldiers to ever serve under an American field commander.