› added 1 week ago

TIL Betel (Areca) nut is the 4th most-used psychoactive drug in the world, after nicotine, alcohol, and caffeine. It's estimated that at least 10% of the world population (600 million people) chew Betel nut, despite high risk of cancers and heart disease.

Read more adf.org.au

via reddit.com

jNdWj TIL a blue whale's heart can weigh in excess of 1,300 lbs and be the size of a small car. Their hearts beat at a rate of 8–10 beats per minute and can be heard from over 2 miles away.
epypE TIL that people with normal color vision might actually be seeing the same colors differently
D161g TIL The fastest piloted aircraft was the X-15. It had 199 total flights and set the speed record at 4,520 mph/2,808 kmh (Mach 6.7)
nbY7 TIL: King Cadwaladr of Gwynedd once ordered his men to put leeks on their helmets to identify themselves in a battle against the Saxons. To this day, the Leek is the national symbol of Wales
RyZ7 TIL that unlike any modern eyes, the lenses of trilobite eyes were actually constructed of calcite. This provided these ancient creatures with virtually unparalleled vision that was filled with streams of light and bursts of color, based on recent experiments conducted with calcite crystals.