› added 11 years ago

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TIL Andrew Jackson was challenged to a duel by Charles Dickinson who was considered an expert shot. Jackson allowed him to fire first hoping his aim to be spoiled by his quickness. The bullet did miss just shy of Jackson’s heart. Dickinson had to stand there waiting for Jackson to kill him.

9wOg7 TIL that there's a species of ant called "Colobopsis explodens" that can explode on command to defend its colony. These "exploding ants" rupture their abdomens, releasing a sticky, toxic fluid to incapacitate threats
Oom4e Til:The Ringelmann effect is the tendency for individual members of a group to become increasingly less productive as the size of their group increases. As more people are involved in a task, their average performance decreases, each participant tending to feel that their own effort is not critical.
Y4rx TIL that Scooby-Doo was the result of CBS and Hanna-Barbera’s plans to create a non-violent Saturday morning TV program that would appease the parent watch groups that had protested the superhero-based programs of the mid-1960s.
0wl1R TIL Octopuses are one of the most intelligent creatures on the planet, capable of solving complex puzzles, using tools, escaping captivity, and planning ahead in the future.
VMvZ4 TIL one of the founders of The Church of Jediism was removed from a Tesco supermarket in North Wales for refusing to remove his hood on a religious basis. The owner justified Jones's ejection by saying, "Jedis are very welcome to shop in our stores although we would ask them to remove their hoods."