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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.

Read more video.nationalgeographic.com

j0kM TIL about Motörhead, a 1992 beat-em-up for the Amiga. You played as Lemmy as he rescued the other members of the band from rappers, rednecks and ravers. The game also included bottles of Jack Daniels as health and mini-games where you pick up groupies and trash hotel rooms.
d8aKE TIL that there are thousand year old bacteria and viruses hiding in the ice caps that if melted and released could cause a new wave of deadly diseases that we haven't experienced before.
OAQX TIL there is an unaired version of the pilot of “Archer” where he is a raptor. Throughout the entire episode, he has no lines. He just makes raptor noises and it makes no sense.
6xNQ TIL the way Helsinki survived WW2. In 1944 the USSR began a massive air attack on the city to force Finland to leave the war. Finns used fires and searchlights to trick Soviet bombers into dropping bombs outside the city. Russian diplomats were surprised to find an intact Helsinki after the war.
woJ71 TIL about Beal Aerospace. A private space launch company formed in 1997 that could have been SpaceX 20 years earlier if not for NASA changing their mind about private spaceflight at the time.