› added 5 years ago

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TIL that in New Zealand, a species of fungus gnats known as Arachnocampa luminos exists, that spins silk nests on cave ceilings, and when prey is entangled in a snare, the larva pulls it up by ingesting the snare, and starts feeding on the prey alive.

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0wxa1 TIL that Portugal submitted an application to honour Magellan's circumnavigation route via the World Heritage List
jnlp TIL Birds’ knees are actually located just under their bodies and covered in feathers. What some believe to be birds’ knees bent backwards are actually their ankles bent normally forwards.
6918m TIL there is a Poison Book Project dedicated to identifying and cataloging antique books that were made with poisonous substances (such as arsenic in the color "Paris Green") to improve the awareness and safe handling of these books.
P1YQO TIL Weezer's Number 1 hit, a cover of Toto's Africa, came to be because of a persistent 14-year old who created a Twitter account and wouldn't stop asking the band to cover the song.
Bgd4L TIL one of the earliest escape attempts to bypass the Berlin Wall was by Heinz Meixner in 1963. He removed a convertible's windshield and deflated its tires as low as possible. He, with his fiancee and her mother hidden, then drove up to the boom barrier, sped under it, and escaped into West Berlin.