› added 4 years ago

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TIL the nematomorph parasite attaches itself to a cricket, but needs an aquatic habitat to survive. To achieve this, the parasite induces the cricket into a water dive, which is a suicidal impulse to drown itself.

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LEvZ TIL that a Turkish cell phone mis-rendered a text message, making it look as though a husband was accusing his wife of cheating on him. This caused a fight in which the wife was stabbed and subsequently died. The husband later killed himself in prison.
ANZpw TIL actor Clark Gable flew combat missions with the US Army during WWII. During one mission, a shell ripped through the heel of his shoe and missed his head by 30 cm. A year later, his discharge papers were signed by then-Captain Ronald Reagan.
EgY67 TIL that there was a "dancing plague" in 1518 that killed upwards of 400 people in Strasbourg.
OlD4 TIL that the diet of the Bearded Vulture is ~90% bones, allowing it to return to a carcass long after other scavengers have removed any soft tissues. Bones too large to swallow are dropped from great height to crack them into smaller pieces.
WedA TIL that the Military at one time invented the M65 - The Recoiless Nuclear Rifle. It fired nuclear rockets.