› added 11 years ago

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TIL a guy after 9 years working for the same company, was transferred into a non-existent department. Paving the way for him to do absolutely nothing, and no one to manage him. He even was asked to write his own yearly reviews, and received raises!

LxMd TIL: Before medical science discovered how the circulatory system functioned, people believed that a vein ran directly from the fourth finger on the left hand to the heart. This is why people wear their wedding ring on this finger.
nejnr TIL in 2002 when scientists studied a 100-year-old original recipe for veal stock, they identified a fifth taste category that was not sweet, bitter, sour, or salty. Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda identified the savory taste as glutamic acid, which he called "umami," or Japanese for "yummy".
GYJwE TIL in 2012 there was a massive solar flare, at least as powerful as the Carrington event in 1859. It could have devastated the electrical grid and even disabled the water supply, but missed Earth by a week. The chance of another hit was 12% in the next 10 years. "We need to be prepared."
OoV97 TIL The Russian island of Big Diomede and the U.S. island of Little Diomede located in the Bering Strait are separated by the International Date Line, making Big Diomede 21 hours ahead of Little Diomede even though they are separated by about 2.4 miles (3.8 km)
DwDY TIL old people smell is actually caused by a chemical, 2-nonenal, that old people secrete through their skin