› added 2 years ago

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TIL of a study which suggests melatonin, the hormone associated with control of our sleep-wake cycles, evolved 700 million years ago from our tiny oceangoing ancestors that would swim to the surface of the sea at twilight and then sink into the depths of the ocean in a sleepy fall through the night.

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Yp0yv TIL of Thales (620-546BC), who is considered to be the first philosopher because the lineage cannot be traced beyond him. His magnus opus: “All is water”
edmJ TIL that certain types of contact lenses worn only during sleep reshape your cornea. After taking them out in the morning, your vision is as good as it would be while normally wearing contacts or glasses. Studies also suggest the lenses slow or stop myopic progression in children.
GYdmE TIL the My Lai Massacre committed by US soldiers was covered up until another soldier who had heard reports of the massacre began a campaign to bring the events to light. He didn't receive a response after writing to the government and finally gave an interview to the journalist to break the story.
6Pe8 TIL major cities like New York, Paris, and Toronto create and maintain fake building fronts in urban centres to conceal vent shafts and utilities. The ‘property’ in Brooklyn concealing a 19th century vent shaft is worth over 2 million!
PYJgG TIL American Sign Language and British Sign Language are not mutually intelligible. While English speakers can understand each other across the Anglosphere, deaf people from different English speaking countries are unable to understand each other.