› added 9 years ago

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TIL most bamboo species only flower once every several decades, with the entire population flowering at once. When one variety flowers, the entire variety flowers at the same time around the world, regardless of location, climate, or any other factors for reasons scientists have yet to discern.

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KObnR TIL It’s Australian tradition to eat sausages at polling places on election day called Democracy Sausages. For many communities, this is the biggest fundraising event of the year.
lovrV TIL that the term and concept of "jay-walking" was introduced in the 1920's by the auto industry as part of a propaganda campaign to claim the roads for cars and shift the blame in accidents from cars to pedestrians. At the time "Jay" was a slur with a similar meaning to "redneck" or "hillbilly."
KppE TIL: There is a word for the murder of citizens by their own government, “democide” and it is the leading cause of unnatural human death.
7dNx TIL that the janitor of the Air Force Academy was a Medal of Honor winner who went unnoticed for almost ten years until a cadet stumbled across his story in a history book. When the janitor passed away, he was buried at the cemetery and is the only non-air force enlisted man buried there.
oor7 TIL a trial run of the “skyhook” (method of retrieving a stranded person using a plane without landing) used a live pig, which spun in the air uncontrollably during test. After regaining its bearings on the plane, it attacked the crew.