› added 9 years ago

96

TIL: Charles Goodyear, credited with the invention of vulcanized rubber, did not found the Goodyear Tire Company.

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vPZ4B TIL that our tastebuds are not as sensitive at high altitude as they are at sea level, which is due to a combination of dry air and pressure change. This is why airline food often tastes "flavorless." Our perception of saltiness and sweetness drops by around 30 percent at high altitude.
gkV4 TIL of Dora Ratjen of Nazi Germany who competed as a woman in the olympics and broke women’s world records; but was arrested for fraud when he was turned out to be a man named Hermann, with all his rewards taken back and given to the women he beat
awd19 TIL that most of the characters in Half life 2 were modeled after real people.
rRGoe TIL Sweden and Spain got into an argument in 1434 about who was more Gothic and deserving of higher honors. The Swedes claimed direct descent from the Goths. The Spanish claimed that only lazy Goths had stayed in Scandinavia while the heroic ones conquered Spain.
xK0 TIL that one reason cats like catnip is that it smells similar to cat urine.