› added 12 years ago

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TIL there is a project called “A Call in the Night” that will call you once a week after 2am and connect you to a random person to discuss your dreams.

Read more callinthenight.com

via reddit.com

nW4MY TIL that 60 years ago 20% of East Asian young adults were near-sighted. Today 90% are. Scientists suspect this is due to a decrease in time spent outside during childhood.
lm1A TIL In 1957 BBC aired a 3 minute segment about a Swiss family harvesting their “spaghetti tree” as an April Fool’s Day Prank, when hundreds of people called into the BBC to ask them about it they told them to, “place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best”.
l7gLB TIL the difference between Putt-Putt and mini golf: Putt-Putt courses have basic, minimalist designs with a strict par 2 on each hole. Mini golf courses are more tricky and elaborate, so the holes have pars up to 6.
ADNWa 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.
nMOG TIL John F. Kennedy requested his head of press, Pierre Salinger, to get him 1,000 Cuban cigars. Seconds after bringing the president 1,200 cigars, Kennedy signed the Cuban trade embargo.