› added 1 year ago

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TIL: That Golliwogs were the second most popular children's toy in Europe in the first half of the 20th century, after the teddy bear. They were banned by Nazi Germany in 1934 on the grounds that they were inappropriate toys for Aryan children.

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6EjY7 TIL That when a whale gets beached and dies, gas builds up in their bodies, which causes for them to explode. This is because of the whale's tough skin and blubber, which doesn't let the gas escape from their bodies.
694nQ TIL about K and R selected species. K-selected species are often larger, have longer lifespans, produce few young at a time, and exhibit logistic growth. R-selected species are generally smaller, have shorter lifespans, and produce many young, and exhibit exponential growth.
eYJ5 TIL that NASA has 2 satellites chasing each other around the Earth tracking the distance between themselves to measure gravitacional anomalies. Their nicknames are “Tom” and “Jerry”.
lo1pK TIL a gannet named Nigel, was dubbed "the loneliest bird in the world" due to the absence of any other birds of his species on his island. Conservationists built fake concrete birds to attract more birds but Nigel ended up falling in love with one the decoys.
WZOX TIL that after he was accused of witchcraft, Giles Corey was subjected to “pressing.” He was stripped naked and weight was added to a heavy plank on his chest to force him to plead innocent or guilty. Each time he was asked to make his plea, he said “more weight” and was eventually crushed to death.