› added 8 years ago

247

TIL one gallon of horseshoe crab blood sells for $60,000 on the world market.

Read more theatlantic.com

via reddit.com

OoyAX TIL: How you smell rain. The main contributor is actinobacteria which when it decomposes leaves a byproduct called gesmin. When moisture or rain is added, they become aerosols and the tiny particles can be smelled miles away and contribute to the scent we associate with rain.
DvbY TIL adding milk before pouring tea was originally intended to cool it so poor-quality cups would not crack from the heat. Adding one’s milk second showed you had the finest china and were a better class of person.
X0vXR TIL Mangrove can sweat/exert salt, resulting in salt crystals left on the leaves
wLKBW TIL that abolitionist martyrJohn Brown was “cheerful” awaiting execution. Brown, a devout Christian recognizing the power of martyrdom, was “fully persuaded that I am worth inconceivably more to hang than any other purpose.” Emerson: “If he shall suffer. the gallows will be glorious like the cross.”
R75A7 TIL The US Army Counterintelligence Office does not accept applicants with a history of employment in the Peace Corp, in order to foster trust between communities and the peace corp