› added 4 years ago

110

TIL that the cone snail, one of the most venomous animals on earth, releases a cloud of insulin when a fish swims by, causing it to go into hypoglycemic shock, immobilizing it so it can inject the fish with a cocktail of up to 200 toxins

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oBWL TIL there was a prehistoric whale that hunted other whales.
PYlaZ TIL that Japanese bullet trains have never had fatalities due to derailments or collisions, but once a boy had his finger stuck in the closing doors and was dragged along until dead. Court fined the station officer present $5k and had Japan Railways pay the boy's parents $440k in compensation.
78aE7 TIL that there is a region in Antarctica that is so dry, that not even ice can form there. It hasn't seen rain in nearly 2 million years and is host to unique lifeforms.
BrG4k TIL that the epidermis is composed of five layers - basal, spinous, granular, clear, and cornified. Skin cells follow a genetically programmed process of death in forming the cornified (outermost) layer.
9YeOr TIL that during the Revolution, British Capt. Patrick Ferguson refused an opportunity to shoot a passing American officer in the back. Historians say there's a very good chance that the officer was George Washington. Ferguson was later killed at the battle of Kings Mountain in South Carolina.