› added 1 month ago

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TIL that Shipworms, a marine mollusk or "termites of the sea", may have changed the history of the world by helping the British defeat the Spanish Armada by eating away at their formidable 130-ship fleet. They also inspired the design of modern tunnel boring machines by how they eat wood head first.

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78kZM TIL During the Mexican-American War, Irish-Americans Fought for Mexico in the 'Saint Patrick's Battalion'
m1arM TIL: In 1939, Australians coped with heatwaves by sleeping on beaches, staying social outdoors, and using creative cooling methods like wet towels. This was before refrigeration and AC became widespread
VMK1Z TIL until 1929, less than 100 years ago, man didn't know there were other galaxies outside of the Milky Way. Edwin Hubble and his "computer", a woman named Henrietta Leavitt calculated stars called cepheids could accurately measure long distances, proving the Andromeda "nebula" was a separate galaxy
MeaQA TIL that Dolly Parton and her husband of 50 years have no children of their own.
d1rd TIL that in Texas, vertically-painted purple lines on a property boundary legally perform the same function as a fence or no trespassing sign.