› added 7 months ago

20

TIL the USA is the only nation on earth where there are more guns than people

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a80BM TIL Ayn Rand based her protagonists on kidnapper, murderer William Edward Hickman.
woZvM TIL Fireflies produce light in special organs in their abdomens by combining a chemical called luciferin, enzymes called luciferases, oxygen and the fuel for cellular work, ATP. Entomologists think they control their flashing by regulating how much oxygen goes to their light-producing organs.
7rJeP TIL the space shuttle Challenger was not originally intended to actually go to space, but was an airframe made to be submitted to (non-destructive) structural tests. After that it was decided to make it into a flying Shuttle. It lasted only 9 missions before exploding.
mjZE TIL There is a fire in a Kyoto temple that has been perpetually burning for over 1200 years
gMOxA TIL The German word Sehnsucht means "an individual’s search for happiness while coping with the reality of unattainable wishes."