› added 8 years ago

1049

TIL the US allows meat packaging to contain carbon monoxide, used to keep the meat looking fresh. It does not aid in actual preservation of meat. It works so well, though, Congress was shown fresh beef and beef that was 2 years old (preserved with CO). They were indistinguishable.

1ab7V TIL Researchers actually know shockingly little about male pattern baldness. While most agree it involves DHT, we don't know the specific mechanisms of how and why DHT causes baldness. This is due to baldness being classified as cosmetic issue, not a disease, which limits research funds available.
MeOeA TIL for centuries, India practiced sati, where widows were obliged to commit suicide upon their husband’s death, often by self-immolation on their funeral pyre. The British banned it in the 19th century
Lpd9 TIL that a volcano trapped some salt water sardines, sharks and sea snakes in a lake. Over centuries the animals adapted and evolved to form new species, the world’s only fresh water sardines, sharks and sea snakes.
LQE9P TIL there was a UK adaptation of the American show Golden Girls called "The Brighton Belles". The British version was released a year after the Golden Girl's final episode and was nearly identical to the original except for name changes.
4XP4g TIL about Earth’s oldest known natural Nuclear Reactor, located in Oklo, Gabon. It's around two-billion years old, and was thought to have been active for several thousand years. Its average power output was 100 kilowatts, enough to run a few dozen toasters.