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TIL There is an Austrailan fungus called "The Stonemaker Fungus" that only shows up right after a forest fire. They live underground in a stone-like mycelium and pop up through the ashes 2-10 days after the fire, sometimes as infrequent as every 100 years.

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Z8XwB TIL of the Kudirka Incident: a Soviet sailor swam from his ship and attempted to defect with the American Coast Guard. Not knowing the protocol for granting asylum, the Coast Guard eventually allowed the Soviets onto their vessel, where they arrested him and sentenced him to 10 years in prison.
x6797 TIL Starfish Prime, a 1962 U.S. Nuclear Test in Space, Created a Radiation Belt That Disrupted Satellites and Power Grids
Y7KYZ TIL about a 1986 arcade game called Chiller in which the player uses a light gun to activate torture devices to maim and kill restrained characters who are incapable of fighting back. It was a commercial failure in the United States because arcade owners refused to purchase it due to the content.
8eleG TIL the US rationed Coffee for a period of time during WWII, limiting households to 1 pound every 5 weeks, averaging out to one cup per day per household. The rationing began in November 1942 and ended in July 1943.
R57g7 TIL about The Party of Moderate Progress Within the Bounds of the Law - an Austro-Hungarian satire party whose platform included mandatory alcoholism and reintroducing the Inquisition