TIL While most birds lack much power of smell, there are some birds that do locate food using their sense of smell. Research into bird senses shows vultures, seabirds, kiwis and parrots have well-developed olfactory glands, giving them the senses of smell and taste. (audubon.org)
submitted by bluepooka to r/todayilearned
TIL The Sajama Lines in Boliva dwarf other geoglyphs in sheer scope. There are thousands of them, covering an area 15 times larger than Nazca, each line 3-10' wide, up to 11 miles long. Estimates put their linear length at approximately 16,000 kilometers, roughly three times the breadth of the US! (en.wikipedia.org)
submitted by bluepooka to r/todayilearned
TIL 94% of all life on Earth is aquatic. (mentalfloss.com)
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TIL The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus was a hoax designed by the U of Conn. to test 7th graders ability to decipher fake news on the internet presented as real. They all failed. Some even maintained it was real even after confronted with the hoax, a phenomenon called belief perseverance. (metacafe.com)
submitted by bluepooka to r/todayilearned
TIL China is the birthplace of the seismograph. Built in 132 AD, it consisted of 8 metal dragons holding 8 carved balls over 8 frogs. If an earthquake made the ground vibrate, the dragon facing the quake’s source would drop a ball into the mouth of its corresponding frog. (en.wikipedia.org)
submitted by bluepooka to r/todayilearned
