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TIL that sea urchins are devastating the US West Coast's vital kelp forests. Since 2014, their population has increased by 10,000%, and in Northern California, over 90% of the giant bull kelp forests have been destroyed. The "urchin barrens" that are left are killing off important fisheries.

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QNbZ9 TIL in the original pitch for Star Trek, Spock was described as "probably half Martian". It was later changed to half Vulcan because Gene Roddenberry thought humans might actually walk on Mars while the show was still running.
ADp0o TIL the original Death Star model from Star Wars was discovered in a Missouri antique store before being sold to a country western bar where it was used as a trash can. Finally, in the 90s, the model was bought by Star Wars fans.
GYyPG TIL that During the 1990s, Raul Cano, a microbiologist at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, revived yeast trapped in amber for 25 million years. Cano went on to found a brewery and crafted an "amber ale" with a 45-million-year-old variant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Ooe07 TIL in 1880 a guy built a 200ft 14 storey tower made out of concrete with no steel reinforcement. It’s still standing today, 140 years later, and is the tallest non-reinforced concrete structure in the world. It was designed as his mausoleum.
4xQJ TIL Benjamin Franklin once sent classified letters to American revolutionaries detailing how the British were attempting to decrease American morale by gradually suppressing basic liberties, effectively making Franklin one of the first American “whistle-blowers”.