› added 10 years ago

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TIL there are things called metamaterials that are artificially engineered materials with properties not found in nature. These properties are the result of their precisely designed structure. Some have the ability to reverse the refractive index, allowing for the possibility of superlenses.

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PGaZ TIL A 16 month old boy’s head was internally decapitated in a car accident, but doctors were able to re-attached his head and he survived.
NXbj6 TIL: the Barbie doll is based on a German doll named Lilly that was based on a cartoon in a tabloid and initially sold to adults. Barbie and Ken were named after the children of Mattel's founders.
lpJa TIL Sony and other Japanese companies have banishment rooms where they transfer surplus employees and give them menial or useless tasks or even nothing to do until they become depressed or disheartened enough to quit on their own, thus not getting full benefits.
7r9kL TIL of Cinnabar. A bright scarlet form of Mercury(II) Sulfide and the most toxic mineral on Earth. Being sent to Spanish cinnabar mines in the Middle Ages was considered a death sentence.
R7KYa TIL elephants (and other animals) can suffer from PTSD.