› added 3 years ago

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TIL that cicada's wings have an anti-bacterial surface that kills bacteria not by chemicals, but by using a nanopattern made of nano pillars that shreds the bacterial membrane.

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via reddit.com

p8go8 TIL a man named Pembroke D. Gwaltney Jr. once kept a piece of 20 year old ham as a pet, complete with a brass collar, and it is currently the world's oldest edible ham at 119 years old. The ham also has a twitter account.
neo07 TIL that Ferdinand Porsche stole several design elements of Volkswagen Beetle from an Austrian engineer named Hans Ledwinka of Tatra, a Czech car company. Tatra took legal action, but Hitler invaded Austria, seized its factory, and banned the car. The case was settled by VW after the war.
J1RBV TIL riding roller coasters can help you pass kidney stones
R0Ja TIL a woman lost her wedding ring, went to the extent of de-tiling her floor to find it. 16 years later while gardening, she pulled a carrot out of the ground and found the ring perfectly around it.
LkWv0 TIL in 1974 Stephen King sold the publishing rights to his first novel, “Carrie,” for $2500 plus royalties. One year later the paperback version was sold for $400,000 plus royalties.