› added 6 years ago

125

TIL Ducks can keep their eyes open underwater due to a transparent third, sideways eyelid called a Nictitating membrane or haw. All birds have it and even humans have a vestigial remnant called the plica semilunaris.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

rNl0y TIL that the Fukushima disaster would have caused far less months of life lost if the residents were instead sheltered in place because of the factors due to the displacement such as suicide, depression and stress causing more months of life lost in the process.
wDk1 TIL in 1983, 90% of US media was controlled by fifty companies; today, 90% is controlled by just six companies.
mxRxY TIL when the US was pressured by China not to sell F-20 fighters to Taiwan, the US allowed General Dynamics to work with Taiwan to jointly develop a comparable fighter, which was later named F-CK-1. (Yes, it's named after the Taiwanese president who initiated the project, but I'm sure r/theyknew!)
nedEP TIL Bill Burr repeatedly mocked the Star Wars franchise and its fans before accepting the role of Mayfeld in The Mandalorian - he was cast because it was believed his past criticism of the franchise would make his casting more amusing.
EgrmW TIL that Lee Smith, the Hall of Fame pitcher, did not start playing baseball until his junior year of high school. He only tried out to win a $10 bet and began pitching after his team's star pitcher was killed in a hunting accident. In his first start, he pitched a no-hitter.