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TIL in 2008 Japanese researchers discovered a protein which helps carry electrical impulses from the eye to the brain, the researchers named it pikachurin in reference to the electric-type pokemon named pikachu

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Kv49 TIL that before standard CPR was invented, the dominant response to cardiac arrest was to cut open the chest and massage the heart directly in the hands.
awwyo Pyrocumulus clouds tower tall above a wildfire in these photos taken last week from an Oregon National Guard F-15C. Most cumulus clouds form when the sun-warmed surface heats air, causing it to rise and carry moisture upward where it condenses to form clouds. In pyrocumulus clouds, the driving heat is supplied by a forest fire or volcanic eruption. The hot, rising air carries smoke and soot particles upward, where they become nucleation sites for condensation. Pyrocumulus clouds can be especially turbulent, and the gusting winds they produce can exacerbate wildfires. In some cases, the clouds can even develop into a pyrocumulonimbus thunderstorm with rain and lightning.
R7VB7 TIL of William of Orange, a war pigeon from British Intelligence service MI14. In 1944, he delivered a message which saved more than 2000 soldiers.
aRV0 TIL that the word “idiot” originally referred to an Athenian citizen who didn’t participate in their city-state’s democracy and vote
W79x8 TIL: Margaret Thatcher considered Tony Blair “her greatest achievement”