› added 5 years ago

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TIL an attempt to fish deep sea "Twilight Zone" species (which number in the quadrillions) resulted in a fishery burning down because the Lanternfish spontaneously combust at surface temperatures.

Read more bbc.com

via reddit.com

x6vV0 TIL about Vortex I, the only state sponsored rock festival in US history. It was done in Oregon coinciding with a visit from President Nixon to support the Vietnam war as a distraction for anti-war protestors.
AE5a TIL: Giraffes tongues are blue because when feeding, their tongues are frequently out of their mouths and exposed to sunlight, so the dark coloration serves to prevent them from getting sunburned.
L8pd TIL that in Thailand there is an army recruitment lottery. Every man over 21 has to participate. Red card you go, black card you don’t.
vxLL TIL that the Scythians were the first people to adopt smoking cannabis (though they mixed it with opium) en masse, and the elite even had solid gold bongs to smoke out of, 2400 years ago.
aMyN TIL that there is a person on the House of Congress’ Science Committee who believes that everything to do with the study of Embryonic development is a fabrication.