› added 1 year ago

55

TIL: stalking predators, whether mammals or birds, tend to have yellow or light-colored irises, whereas predators that run after their prey, and prey-species themselves, tend to be dark-eyed

Read more frontiersinzoology.biomedcentral.com

via reddit.com

OoXYR TIL about the Crooked Forest (Krzywy Las) in Poland, a forest of pine trees that bend sharply to the North before returning upright after 3ft of growth, thus resembling fish hooks. No exact reason has been found for their shape as yet.
OoZOg TIL that during WWI, there was limited supplies of cotton, so doctors used sphagnum moss for bandages. It can hold 22x its own weight in liquid and is a natural antiseptic.
9LYp TIL Alexander I of Yugoslavia refused to attend public events on Tuesdays after three family members died on that day of the week. After finally being forced to appear on Tuesday, he was promptly assassinated.
GYGWg TIL that in 2010, the Colombian government successfully transmitted a Morse message to their captive soldiers by composing a song popular enough to hit local top 40 radio and disguising the Morse Code in a synth interlude
OGYj4 TIL that only 58% (26/45) former US presidents served only their full elected terms. Between 1841 and 1977 it was only 37% (11/30), but 100% before and since.