› added 5 years ago

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TIL of Black Kite 'Firehawks' which are birds that deliberately spread fires in Australia by carrying burning twigs in their beaks and talons and dropping them in other areas in order to start new fires and drive out insects and small animals so they can feed on them.

Read more news.nationalgeographic.com

via reddit.com

6EnLm TIL The 'ancient city of Machu Picchu' is only 550 years old. The Tower of London predates it by almost 400 years.
PVyV TIL that in 1996, a man was flying a remote-controlled model plane in Dublin when the receiver died. The plane continued with no guidance for 5 miles, then ran out of fuel and glided to a stop on the runway of Dublin Airport.
7rvLx TIL during solar eclipses, tree leaves act as pinhole cameras, resulting in trees casting crescent-shaped shadows on the ground. This effect puzzled Aristotle in the 4th Century BC.
awgg0 TIL of John Wojtowicz, who robbed a bank to fund his partner’s gender reassignment surgery. In prison, they made a movie about the crime and he used the money he earned from selling the rights to finally pay for her surgery.
xV5Jb TIL Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden fame is a legit 747 pilot and on one occasion flew British troops back home from Afghanistan.