› added 11 months ago

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TIL higher-ups at McDonald's once created a 'McResource' page for their minimum-wage employees. The page included advice on how much they should be tipping their personal trainers, massage therapists, and pool cleaners.

j6X0p TIL archaeologists discovered an "extremely rare" complete 14th-century gauntlet, on the grounds of Kyburg Castle in Switzerland, that's "remarkably well-preserved."
jN6KR You probably know that your visual perception of the world is a bit different than your pets’. Dogs see things with less color than humans, snakes can see infrared, and if you have a pet bull, it lives in a world where red and green are the same color. This brings up a good question. Why do you have a pet bull? You should get a cat instead, and when you do, it is important to know that your new friend can’t focus on objects farther than 20 feet away. The point is, animals have evolved to see in a variety of ways. But how can we see things through their eyes? Marine biologist and National Geographic Emerging Explorer David Gruber collaborated with a research team to develop lights and camera filters that allowed him to do just that, underwater. Through their work, the team discovered biofluorescence in an abundance of aquatic species. This “glowing” trait has to do with how an organism absorbs and emits light. Research has indicated that this radiance is possibly used for communication and camouflage. One caveat: You need a certain species of eyes (or David’s camera) to see it. Swell sharks (Cephaloscyllium ventriosum) have fluorescent proteins inside their skin, which are triggered by the ocean’s blue light, becoming visible to other swell sharks. David’s camera has special yellow filters that allow the simulation of a swell shark’s vision. It turns out there is a massive rave going on 500 meters below the ocean’s surface, and one of the glowing guests is a type of cat shark!
6EyG7 TIL The clocks in the Great Kitchen at Windsor Castle are always five minutes fast so food is never served to the Queen late. The estate has more than 450 clocks in total. It takes 18 hours to change the time on them when the clocks go back.
nW97r TIL that actresses Kate and Rooney Mara are related to NFL families. Their mother is a part of the family that owns the Pittsburgh Steelers (the Rooneys), while their father is a part of the family that owns the New York Giants (the Maras).
l8eG TIL that Dr. John Rock, the creator of the birth control pill, was a devout Catholic and invented the pill to compliment the Calendar method of contraception.