› added 11 years ago

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TIL that the Gingko biloba tree species is 270 million years old, rarely suffers disease or insect attack and was one of the only living things to survive the Hiroshima nuclear bombing - the trees healed quickly and are still alive today.

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vPEj4 TIL Jim Carrey was trained by a specialist that trained CIA operatives to endure torture. While working on The Grinch, he wanted to quit because of the 8 hours of the heavy make up prep, but the producer hired the specialist and Carrey was able to go through the make up process 100 times.
1a1Bd TIL: Cadaverine, the toxic chemical formed by dead tissue breaking down, and the source of the corpse smell, is also responsible for giving semen its taste
nWa6G TIL that after finishing season 1 of Gravity Falls, creator Alex Hirsch was so burnt out that he almost considered not doing another one, until Jon Stewart and Pat McHale, creator of Over the Garden Wall, were able to convince him to do so.
9YXOX TIL of Japan's "Okinoshima", an island off-limits to women. Access is only granted to 200 men for one day every year after they purify themselves in the surrounding sea.
0wlj1 TIL clovers used to be part of lawn seed mix and are helpful in many ways to keeping a healthy lawn. About 60-70 years ago they became classified as a weed by savvy marketing teams to sell you products like nitrogen and weed killers, which clovers do naturally by themselves.