› added 9 years ago

451

TIL 20% of people can’t smell semen.

Read more link.springer.com

via reddit.com

myBR TIL 100 years ago the Battle of Messines began with the detonation of 19 mines under German front lines which killed 10,000 troops in 20 seconds, considered the deadliest non-nuclear, man-made explosion in history.
BrvAr TIL about Black Day, the anti-Valentine's Day, where S. Korean singles dress in black and gather together to eat dark colored food. Jajangmyeon, a savory black bean sauce over noodles, is the preferred dish for those resenting Valentine's to commiserate over.
9wpEQ TIL India faces 50 year cycles of rat floods. The cycle is driven by the flowering cycle of bamboo that produces excesses of seeds that increase the rat population. The last mautam (Melocanna baccifera driven event) occured 2007-8 and the next thingtam (Bambusa tulda driven) is to occur in 2025-6.
E1w00 TIL that until the early 20th century boys were routinely dressed like girls until they were 6 or 7 when they were "breeched", that is dressed in pants rather than dresses.
v1N1r TIL when creeping dogwood flowers open, their stamens snap upwards at 24,000 m/s^2 (nearly 54,000 mph), which flings the pollen at an acceleration of up to 3,000 G's - one of the fastest plant actions on Earth.