› added 1 year ago

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TIL that the highest-flying living thing on Earth is a type of bacteria called Bacillus stratosphericus, which can be found floating in the air at altitudes of up to 41 kilometers (25 miles)

Read more microbewiki.kenyon.edu

via reddit.com

nejOr Til monkeys with smaller testicles scream louder to compensate.
Lk8BZ TIL The United States Supreme Court has declared tomatoes are legally vegetables, not fruit. (Nix v. Hedden, 1893)
RDkl TIL that Cinderella’s slippers were not actually made of glass. A translation mistake from the original french version to english translated “vair” (fur) to “verre” (glass), which in french are pronounced exactly the same.
xd9o TIL that after the Great Fire of London, an economist by the name of Nicholas If-Christ-had-not-died-for-thee-thou-hadst-been-damned Barebone played a major role in pioneering fire insurance. (His very religious father, Praise-God Barebone chose his somewhat unusual middle name)
wBjP TIL that asthma inhalers containing ozone damaging CFCs were banned in 2008 in spite of their small environmental impact. Drug companies have greatly benefited from the ban because they can change more for HFA inhalers that are still patented. The drug has not changed, only the delivery mechanism.