› added 12 years ago

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Today I learned cicadas have evolved 13 and 17 year breeding cycles, because prime integers rarely sync with other integers making it rare that they will breed in sync with predators.

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l78NK TIL about the church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster that practices Pastafarianism. Said monster created the universe while drunk. It's version of Heaven includes a beer volcano and a stripper factory.
Oo8oe TIL Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has entertained the idea that Harry went mad in the cupboard under the stairs and made up a magical world in his head to cope with it.
Z8X4o TIL Theo Jansen has been creating strandbeesten, which are moving kinetic structures, sometimes wind-propelled, that resemble walking animals. All of his models are based on a system of triangles and connecting links which convert the rotation of an axle into a stepping motion of six or more legs.
AEa TIL that J.K. Rowling seriously considered killing Ron Weasley mid-series
Y7L5G TIL some sharks lay spiral shark eggs and others lay 'mermaid purses'. Some sharks are oviparous (lay eggs), some are viviparous (give birth to living young) and other sharks are ovoviviparous (the eggs hatch inside the mother before the young are born alive)