› added 5 years ago

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TIL that black walnut trees produce a toxin that is released from their roots, that can weaken or kill other plants near them.

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via reddit.com

Lk6b9 TIL: The reason capsaicin (the chemical in peppers) makes you feel like you’re burning is because it lowers the tolerance of the pain receptors in your mouth such that your own body heat is enough to trigger them to tells your brain that things are dangerously hot.
4kK8R TIL that J.M.W Turner once had himself tied to the mast of a steamboat in order to experience a snow storm so that he could paint it. This is what inspired his work Snow Storm - Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth.
vyRj TIL that in 1966 Australia became the last democratic country to lift the ban on married women in the public service. The Commonwealth Public Service Act 1902 stated that every female officer was “deemed to have retired from the Commonwealth service upon her marriage”.
4Xbb5 TIL that’s the pilot of Gilligan’s Island was filmed on the day of JFK’s assassination. Even after hearing this news, they continued filming and when they shot the Minnow’s departure scene, all the flags were at halfmast
dDrD8 TIL an explosion at a gas station, along with a car catching on fire, started after a woman went to grab a fuel pump that was fueling her car. Because of incidents like this, it is recommended that people ground static electricity buildup by touching another metal object before pumping fuel.