› added 1 year ago

98

TIL that European Starlings can mimic human speech

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v1Rx7 TIL that administering testosterone to patients with social anxiety disorder has been found to increase their willingness to face situations which are perceived as socially threatening.
9YlpG TIL that in 2006, CNN mistakenly used an image of the Balrog from a 1977 Lord of the Rings calendar to represent Satan. Stephen Colbert recognized the image because he had that calendar and mocked CNN for the mistake.
v1Va4 TIL of Alexandra David-Néel, an explorer who snuck into Tibet in the 1920s to learn about Buddhism when it was closed to outsiders. She lived until 101 and her writings influenced Jack Kerouac amongst others.
nW57d TIL Rodney Marks died of methanol poisoning under suspicious circumstances while working at the South Pole. His body was kept frozen for 6 months before it was able to be recovered.
0wENM TIL a rare 400-year-old shimpaku tree, which was due to be entered in a Japanese beauty competition, was stolen from a roughly 5,000 hectare park run by a fifth generation bonsai master whose family practice dates back to the Edo period (1603-1868)