› added 12 years ago

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TIL Dr. Donald Unger only cracked the knuckles on his left hand every day for more than 60 years. Both hands remained unharmed, earning him the 2009 Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine, a parody of the actual award.

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9ww7m TIL that the town of Las Vegas,Nevada, was originally founded by Mormon missionaries
0wmM TIL That the glottis (the opening in which air passes through when we breathe) expands when we are under heavy stress for increased oxygen intake. This causes the lump you feel in your throat when you are stressed/crying!
loWgN TIL about Tulip Mania, during the 17th Century Dutch Golden Age, when prices for some tulip bulbs skyrocketed. Many think it is one of the first speculative bubbles to pop, but some historians believe it has been exaggerated over time.
pygG TIL In 2008, melamine added to milk in China caused kidney stones in thousands of Chinese children. To show his confidence in Chinese dairy products, Peter Mandelson MP drank a glass of Chinese yoghurt in front of reporters. The following week, he was hospitalised for a kidney stone.
6EEaJ Yes, it’s true that most jetliners are certified for automatic landings, called “autolands” in pilot-speak. But in practice they are rare. Fewer than 1 percent of landings are performed automatically, and the fine print of setting up and managing one of these landings is something I could talk about all day. If it were as easy as pressing a button, I wouldn’t need to practice them twice a year in the simulator or periodically review those tabbed, highlighted pages in my manuals. In a lot of respects, automatic landings are more work-intensive than those performed by hand. The technology is there if you need it for that foggy arrival in Buenos Aires with the visibility sitting at zero, but it’s anything but simple.