› added 9 years ago

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TIL the sternocleidomastoid (neck muscle) is often included by creature designers to alien characters to make them seem more attractive and familiar as the muscle is a uniquely mammalian feature. C-3PO has them in the form of pistons on his neck, and so do the good guys in Star Trek.

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R7Mrw TIL about Police Constable Steve Hutton, who, on 2 separate occasions, barked at fleeing criminals to trick them into thinking he had a police dog with him. It worked.
W7vZY TIL that advances in single-cell metabolomics have made it possible to reprogram the fate of cells. By altering the metabolites in a cell, scientists can change an epidermal cell into a neural cell and vice versa, offering potential breakthroughs in regenerative medicine.
6yaJ TIL North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il was claimed to complete a 72 par course in 34 strokes, managing a world record five holes-in-one, making him the best golfer in the history of the world. It was also apparently the first time he has ever golfed.
wLlKM TIL about Cargo cults a belief system based on the following of a more technologicallly advance society without understanding their culture or their technology. Most commonly associated with island people paying cult to people that stopped on their island.
OG0o1 TIL that before password protection was common, IBM computers had a physical key lock. The function of the locks ranged from preventing keyboard input, locking the power switch in the "off" position, and preventing the computer case from being opened.