› added 4 months ago

8

TIL That while the original function of disgust was most likely to protect us from disease-carrying contaminants, we can now feel disgust for immoral actions, for people, or for entire social groups.

Read more cornell.edu

via reddit.com

xLWb TIL Thirty-six armed dolphins trained by the U.S. Navy to kill terrorists have been missing since 2005. The dolphins carry “toxic dart guns” capable of killing a man in a single shot.
YpLAP TIL the term "silhouette" has a political backstory. King Louis XV's General of Finances, Étienne de Silhouette, had a reputation for being cheap. Shadow portraits became popular during his tenure and got named after him due to being very cheap to make compared to commissioning a painting of oneself
9Y5B TIL alligator immune systems are so awesome that their blood can eradicate most things we try to infect it with, including salmonella, strep, staph, E. Coli, some straings of dysentery causing bacteria, herpes and HIV
mKYM TIL that a female humpback whale, near drowning, was freed by divers from a tangle of crab pots … then thanked them all, one at a time.
PKxn TIL a Massachusetts man who was rushed to hospital with a collapsed lung came home with an unusual diagnosis: a pea plant was growing in his lung