› added 3 months ago

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TIL that chinstrap penguins take more than 10,000 micro-naps a day, lasting an average of 4 seconds, for a total of more than 11 hours of daily sleep.

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rNaPo TIL that West Virginia's split from Virginia was controversial. Instead of joining the civil war, citizens met to form WV. Legally a state split needs the consent of the existing government, but when the only representatives in D.C. were from WV, Lincoln decided they were Virginia's only government.
Wk1P9 TIL ancient swords from 'Damascus' (Syria) dipped in 'Dragon's Blood,' as legend has it, were studied by scientists who further dipped the metal, 'wootz,' in hydrochloric acid to reveal, under an electron-microscope, nano-metre-sized tubes with a microstructure similar to modern carbon nanotubes.
gMMYy TIL that black licorice can kill you
jYRE TIL Schoolhouse Rock! was created by an ad agency exec who noticed that his son had learned every Beatles lyric but could not remember multiplication tables.
Ry8Q TIL that on the 5th anniversary of 9/11 the United States received a gift from Russia, the Tear Drop Memorial. The base of the memorial has inscribed the names of all the victims of the attacks.