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TIL: Locusts emerge from their burrows only after prime number of years to make it difficult for predators to evolve - a rare example of prime numbers in nature.

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BgWeb TIL There are 10 ^31 bacteria phages on the planet. A number that translates into a trillion phages for every grain of sand in the world.
yVOlM TIL Roy Sullivan is believed to have been struck by lightning 7 times throughout his life. He began carrying a can of water incase he caught on fire (which he did!)
Bvjy TIL homicide rates & battle deaths are way down since prehistoric times – and we now live in “The most peaceful time in our species’ existence”
m1wVo TIL 69% of panel members for the creation of the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, version 5), have ties to pharmaceutical industries.
b6mK9 TIL Étienne Léopold Trouvelot, a French entomologist, living in Medford, Mass. in the late 1800s, decided to create a cross-breed of caterpillars from native North American moths and European caterpillars Lymantria dispar, in order to start a competitive silk industry. (rest of the story in comment)