› added 4 years ago

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TIL microwave ovens DON’T heat food using the “resonant frequency” of water. They work by causing polar molecules (water is one, and so are some fats) to rotate back and forth quickly in an oscillating electromagnetic field, producing molecular vibrations (heat).

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oB4XE TIL about the Tucker State Prison Farm scandal, in which inmates were routinely beaten, tortured with needles under their fingernails, and had their genitals crushed with pliers and electrocuted. Up to 200 inmates may have been murdered and buried around the prison.
g1y TIL that there is a company that uses human fetal kidney cells to develop and amplify flavors. They are partnered with Nestle, Campbell’s Soup, Kraft Foods and Pepsi.
9YOOp TIL that the future King Henry V of England took an arrow in the face at the Battle of Shrewsbury (1403), fighting beside his father when he was only 16 years old. Despite the terrible wound, he kept fighting and later recovered. Turns out he was a badass long before invading France.
yXo8 TIL in 1953 a newspaper boy was paid with a coin which he found to be hollow and contain a coded message. He gave it to authorities but the code could not be deciphered. Years later, a Russian spy in the U.S. defected and during his interrogation was shown the coin and code. The message was for him.
6D08 TIL that a woman with no criminal history spent a month in jail after cops found what they thought was a spoon with meth residue. She was released after tests confirmed the “meth residue” was spaghetti sauce.