› added 1 year ago

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TIL the West Australian Christmas Tree (Nuytsia floribunda) is a parasitic tree that sends out roots up to 150m (492ft) to attach themselves to any nearby trees and plants to draw water and nutrients from them. Almost all species are susceptible to attack.

rLx0 TIL in 2011 a Gurkha single-handedly held off 12 Taliban as they attacked his base. Alone on the roof, he fought ‘an onslaught of rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47s’. He fired over 400 rounds, launched 17 grenades and detonated a mine. After his gun failed, he threw his tripod to fend a man off.
grwXD TIL that the Sam Kee Building, recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's narrowest commercial building, was built after its owner bet a business associate that he could make use of the 6 ft (1.5 m) wide strip of land he had left after the city took 79% of his land without compensating him.
D1Yxj TIL: From the 1500’s - 1800’s tomatoes were usually only consumed by the poor because they were considered poisonous to the rich. The high lead content of pewter silverware and plates would leech into high acidic foods when eaten causing poisoning and death.
6E0rY TIL that Luxembourg, the Belgian province, is almost twice as big as Luxembourg the country
mkZv TIL when corn was first utilized by colonists and Europeans, they ignored the Native American’s process of first treating it with lime-water, which makes available the corn’s niacin to the body. As a result of their dependence on the crop, hundreds of thousands died of Pellagra, a niacin deficiency.