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TIL Stomphia coccinea is a small reddish or pinkish sea anemone that has the remarkable ability to detach itself and swim away from predators when necessary. When a starfish's sensory organs touch this sea anemone, it rocks back and forth prying itself from its anchorage and escapes: see video below

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5VlG9 TIL that, concerning deregulation, the Washington Consensus' original 10 points only called to abolish rules that impede market entry or restrict competition; rules based on safety, environmental and consumer protection grounds, and oversight of financial institutions were explicitly excepted
wRlW TIL Beanie Babies, at the height of their popularity, accounted for 10% of eBay traffic and some collectors insured their purchases for thousands of dollars.
YppXP TIL Harvard's first black faculty member was a dentist. Dr. George Franklin Grant joined the Dept of mechanical dentistry in 1871. Also an inventor, he patented the wooden golf tee. Previously, golfers carried around buckets of sand, placing their balls on little piles as they went.
xd7b TIL a Canadian province had a “Sexual Sterilization Act” from 1928-1972. Almost 3000 sterilizations were performed on minorities and women who were deemed “mentally defective.” In 1995 a sterilized women was awarded almost $1 million for her humiliation at being wrongfully labeled as a moron.
Y77rW TIL the first supersonic airliner was not the Concorde or Tu-144, but a DC-8. During a test flight in 1961 it achieved supersonic speed for 16 seconds while in a dive. Accompanying the airliner in a chase plane was Chuck Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier.