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TIL 'Ballooning' spiders are able to take off and fly through the air, without wind, by using a single line of web ejected into the air to propel them up the naturally generated electric fields in our atmosphere

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pYyw4 TIL in 1862 John Langdon Down was the first to describe a distinct mental disability, calling it "Mongolism" due to his perception that children with it shared facial similarities. Now called Down Syndrome, was discovered in the 1950s to be caused by the presence a third copy of chromosome 21.
Qymp TIL that at Appalachian law school there was a shooting that took place in 2002 where the gunman was cornered by two students who had guns at the time.
yWeM TIL In 1988 Ian Mckellen visited Michael Howard, then Environment Secretary, to lobby against Section 28. Howard refused to change his position but did ask him to leave an autograph for his children. McKellen agreed, but wrote, “Fuck off, I’m gay.”
e7WD TIL there is a reply to “Liar, Liar, pants are on fire.” “I don’t care, I don’t care, I can buy another pair.”
5Y54P TIL that there’s going to be a backup of the backup of the internet located in Canada, to shield data from some possible American legal action.