› added 11 years ago

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TIL early firefighters weren’t paid with cash, instead they first grabbed all valuable items out of the victims house or business, then would sell those items or keep them for themselves.

ADNWa The human brain looks like a big, pinkish-gray, wrinkly walnut. There are so many folds in it that, if it could be unfolded, it could be a small tablecloth. Pinkish-gray might not match your decor, but it would be about the right size! This "tablecloth" is made up of the cerebral cortex and is the wrinkly outside layer of your brain. All those folds are responsible for abstract thought, language, and memory. Scientists believe the wrinkles exist as a way to increase the surface area of the cortex, allowing for increased brainpower in a smaller space. In this week’s Today I Learned, neuroscientist and National Geographic Emerging Explorer Steve Ramirez shares some of his smarts on how your cortex is different from your pet hamster’s.
4k6Aa TIL This is Rakesh Sharma. Alive and well, He was the first Indian to go to space in 1984, making India the 14th nation in the world to send a man to Outer Space.
gMLM4 TIL that Singapore still use caning extensively as a form of punishment in schools, prisons and the government.
nej4Y TIL - An 8th grader tried to pay for her lunch with a 2 Dollar Bill that had been given to her by her grandmother. The police were called because the school thought it was fake, and investigated where the bill had been obtained. In the end, the bill was real.
m1O7O TIL Matt Groening (Creator of the Simpsons) had Marge and Homer Simpson named after his mother and father, Lisa and Maggie Simpson after his younger sisters, and Abraham Simpson after his own grandfather.