› added 7 years ago

234

TIL that naked mole rats can survive 18 minutes without oxygen and suffer no lasting effects. They achieve this feat by switching their metabolism to use fructose, instead of glucose, something typically only done by plants.

Read more sciencemag.org

via reddit.com

0dpZp TIL that tetrodotoxin (TTX), which makes pufferfish poisonous, may not be made by the pufferfish themselves. TTX is produced by marine bacteria in the natural pufferfish food chain, and pufferfish fed TTX-free diets become non-toxic. When TTX is re-introduced to the fish, they become toxic again.
GAao7 TIL that Curtis Priem, one of Nvidias co-founders, left the company in 2003 and sold all his shares by 2006. Today, his net worth is $30 million, but if he had held onto his Nvidia shares, his net worth would be roughly $70 Billion.
W7ZoY TIL about the siege of Dura-Europos, one of history's first use of chemical weapons and tunnel warfare, during the siege the Persians dug tunnels to bypass the Roman walls, Romans dug their own tunnels to reach them and fight them but the Persians released sulphur dioxide in the tunnels, killing 20.
6pxZ TIL that 120 battle suits representing “grunts, dogs and tanks” weighing up to 130 pounds (59 kg) were handcrafted for Edge of Tomorrow. Each actor needed 4 people to help put on the suits and between takes they would be suspended by chains from iron frames to take the weight off their shoulders.
Jmgm TIL that Burger King introduced a Left-Handed Whopper in 1998 with all condiments rotated 180 degrees which attracted thousands of customers.