› added 5 years ago

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TIL that manatees rely on their farting abilities to keep them afloat. When they have gas stored up, they’re more buoyant and float to the surface. When they fart out that gas, they sink. When constipated and can’t pass gas, they can't swim properly and float around with their tail above their head.

0wmQA TIL Jean Keene, "Eagle Lady". An activist who fed bald eagles on her farm in Homer, Alaska. She fed an estimated 227kg of fish every day and environmentalists are concerned that she changed the eagles migratory pattern. Homer now forbids bird feeding as they have become a general public menace.
X09mE TIL that Sichuan peppercorns aren't peppers at all. Rather, they're the dried berries of the prickly ash tree, which is a member of the citrus family.
oBjBr TIL At age 30, Dan McLaughlin with no golf experience, quit his job and dedicated to train to be a pro golfer. His philosophy was 10k hours to become an expert, and with the help of psychologists and trainers he was able to get a 2.5 handicap (top 6%), but his back went out at 6k hours and he quit.
gAa7 TIL France produces 75% of their electricity with nuclear power. US produces 60% more than France, but it accounts for only 19% of US electricity production.
0deGA TIL in October 1995, the potato became the first vegetable to be grown in space. Seed potatoes were grown in space using technology called quantum tubers developed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, combining with China’s agricultural techniques.