› added 5 years ago

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TIL that the stethoscope was invented when a doctor felt uncomfortable placing his head on a woman's chest.

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Oob81 TIL that in some cases it is better that a single product design dominates a market for a short period of time, regardless of relative quality (ex. iPod, Blu-Ray, VHS). "Dominant design" allows for relatively low-risk improvement of existing designs, increasing the rate of technological advancement.
0dXM1 TIL that human skin produces cortisol and that topical steroid use changes the biology of the skin leading to itching, flaking, and rash that can be permanent known as Topical Steroid Withdrawal.
MeXVm TIL that the Mouse Utopia Experiments In the 1960s had a huge influence on the animated film The Secret of Nimh. NIMH stands for the National Institute of Mental Health, by the way.
R5DAa TIL of Walter M. Gibson, a 19th century adventurer who was a gunrunner in the Caribbean and imprisoned in the East Indies for fomenting rebellion, but while awaiting execution, had a vision of creating an island empire and escaped -- then tried to create that empire as Prime Minister of Hawaii.
gKEb TIL the USA space budget exceeds the rest of the world’s combined