› added 11 years ago

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TIL that the reason rubbing alcohol burns when applied to cuts is because exposed VR1 nerve cells in the cut, which normally detect burning hot temperatures, have their pain threshold lowered by alcohol–so much that your own body temperature causes the burning sensation.

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Y7XJG TIL the average person produces 11,000 gallons (41600 L) of pee in their lifetime, enough to fill up two 16-foot above ground pools two times.
kYOm TIL that Nero did not “fiddle” during the Great Fire of Rome. Upon hearing news of the fire, Nero rushed back to Rome to organize a relief effort. He opened his palaces to provide shelter for the homeless, arranging for food supplies to be delivered in order to prevent starvation among the survivors
mxXlv TIL that the story about Ossip Bernstein playing chess to escape a bolshevik firing squad has only 1 source: Ossip himself - who first told the story to a friend after having fled to the UK.
lnX5 TIL that in 2009, two pilots overshot their flight from San Diego to Minneapolis by 500 miles because they had “engaged in deep conversation”
ADdDB TIL Indium the element was not named for India, but for indigo the color. The spectrum of indium has a bright emission line at 451 nm and happened to correspond with one of Isaac Newton's rainbow colors.