› added 11 years ago

204

TIL Nixon gave Elvis a federal narcotics badge which Elvis thought would legally allow him to enter any country both wearing guns and carrying any drugs he wished!

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xnbD TIL that Ouija boards work because of the Ideomotor effect, which is when someone moves themselves or an object without consciously knowing it.
b9nya TIL that the reason mint feels cold is due to it containing menthol. Menthol activates the same receptor (TRPM8) that detects cold temperatures, so the brain will interpret it as something cold.
ZpJya TIL the Swiss village of Iseltwald has seen a surge in tourism due to the K-drama "Crash Landing on You". Fans visit because it's the location of a romantic scene from the popular South Korean show
x6yWb TIL that in Greek mythology, one of the monsters that Hercules had to fight were called "Stymphalian birds." These invasive and vicious birds were made of bronze and could kill people by launching bladed feathers at them. Their poop was also poisonous.
Z8OyQ TIL Dissecting human bodies was taboo in antiquity up to the 16th century. The only people to systematically do it before then were Erasistratus and Herophilus from Alexandria. Their work pioneered medicine and anatomy but was criticized by contemporaries, especially their practice of vivisections