› added 5 years ago

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TIL that a Russian Black widow bomber blew herself up when her phone company sent her a spam text message, causing her explosive device to explode prematurely.

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via reddit.com

69Vb8 TIL that on top of the 3 matters of state that we’re all familiar with (solid, liquid, gas), there are at least 24 more, though most only exist under extreme conditions
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!
OomRX TIL Pronoia is the opposite of paranoia. A paranoid person thinks everyone in conspiring against him or her, whereas a pronoid person thinks everything is secretly conspiring to help him or her.
VGnZ TIL scientists asked people to guess who won senator/governor elections (involving candidates they knew NOTHING about) by simply looking at pictures of the candidates faces. The people guessing got it right 70% of the time.
Z8Yjp TIL that, in 2001 after the FDA cracked down on China for mixing in rice syrup into honey to cheat through a test that checks if the honey is genuine or not, China started to launder its honey to other Asian countries by faking various lab results and the country of origin.